Inventory Remains Down Across State
New listings continued their seasonal retreat in November, dropping 2.4% from last November, from 5,568 to 5,433, reaching the lowest point since December. Across the metro, listing data remained mix, with the southern and eastern suburban counties (Scott, Dakota, and Washington) all providing increases in new listings, year-over-year, while the north, west and urban core counties all posted declines, with Carver and Ramsey posting the largest drops, 14.8% and 9.7%, respectively.
While new listings dipped, closings remained relatively even, only dropping 0.5% from November 2018. Hennepin County provided more than 1,500 closings in November, or approximately 1 in 5 closings statewide, but even this came at a 3% slower pace than one year ago. More than 6,700 closing took place throughout November, despite a large drop in overall available inventory throughout the month.
Statewide, available inventory fell almost 9%, falling below 18,000 units, the lowest point since March 2019. The total months supply of inventory also dropped in November, tumbling 10.7% to 2.5 months of supply, the first month below the 3.0 months mark since April.
“Inventory continues to be the biggest problem facing our market and will continue to be the #1 issue heading into 2020,” said Minnesota Realtors® CEO Chris Galler. “Most economists agree a market our size should have roughly 5.0 months of inventory available, across all price points. Minnesota hasn’t hit that level since July 2015, and we have remained even lower, below 4.0 months, since July 2016. All of this inventory pressure directly fuels the sales price crunch buyers are facing.”
During this period, home prices continued to rise when compared to this time last year but remained even from October numbers. Through November, the median home price in Minnesota was up 5.1%, finishing at $250,000.
Minnesota’s full November housing data report, including regional and county data, can be accessed HERE.
Serving more than 21,000 real-estate professionals, Minnesota REALTORS® (MNR) is the largest trade association in the state with a mission of uniting and empowering realtors throughout the state to thrive. Dedicated to helping REALTORS® build their careers and grow their businesses, MNR provides a wide range of services and resources that include legal services, community education, government affairs, and code of ethics and standards of practice support. Founded in 1919, MNR is a non-profit organization. For more information, visit my.mnrealtor.com.
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