Statewide home sales rise during July, prices fall

Following a sales report from local Realtors' groups that show that summer sales are rising, but prices are still falling, the Minnesota Association of Realtors said that throughout the state the number of closed home sales during July was down 33.5 percent with the median sale price of those deals down 6.5 percent. These are comparisons to July 2010.

Despite an uptick in sales activity this summer, the number of sales so far this year is down 4.1 percent, with prices down almost 9 percent. 

An increase in sales is always good news, but the best news in the report is that the number of new listings was down more than 17 percent, which is bringing oveall inventory levels down, as well. That means more competition, which is always a good thing when prices are falling. You can see the full report here.