Roseville Homes Sales Up, Median Price Down

Following the Twin Cities at large, Roseville's home sales in January were a mixed bag with the number of completed deals up from a year ago but the median sales price was down.

The median sales for a completed home transaction in Roseville in January was $118,750, down 35.8 percent from $185,000, according to the latest data from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR).   

But an encouraging note: The number of completed home sales rose 18.2 percent in January compared to the same month in 2011.  There were 13 completed home sales in January in Roseville, up from 11 in January, 2011. 

Meanwhile, the number of new home listings in Roseville rose 46.9 percent for the month, from 32 in January, 2011 to 47 in January, 2012. 

Lisa Meyer, manager of Edina Realty's Roseville office, was encouraged by the latest home sales report. "We are certaintly seeing a more balanced market which in the long run will help to get prices stabilized," she said. The inventory or supply of homes available for sale in Roseville was 4.5 months in January, down from 7 months the aame month in 2011, a 36.3 percent decline.  

Meyer said that her agents are seeing a lot of open house activity. But she hinted the market still has yet to see a lot of activity from homeowners who are ready to move up into larger houses.  

For a complete list of the Roseville home sales stats click on this link. 

Meanwhile,  the overall Twin Cities real estate market demonstrated new signs of vitality last month.

Realtors reported 3,149 purchase agreements, the highest number for any January since 2005, and a median price that was down only 3.4 percent from the same month in 2011.

“Price declines are subsiding, partly thanks to changes on the supply-side of the equation,” said Andy Fazendin, president-elect of MAAR. In other words, fewer and fewer homes are for sale, and with s smaller number of homes to choose from, buyers are forced to pay a higher percentage of the asking price.

Indeed, new real estate listings fell 9 percent from January 2011, to 5,112 properties. The number of homes for sale continued to drop, as well, down 28.1 percent from last year to 16,463 active listings, the lowest inventory reading for any month since 2003. Another important housing metric, supply of inventory, remained at a six-year low of 4.6 months. The average number of days a listing spends on the market before closing was down 8.3 percent to 142 days—the fourth consecutive year-over-year decrease.

In January, as in previous months, the high percentage of homes sold through foreclosure or the short-sale process depressed the region’s median price, which was down to $140,000. In January, such sales made up 55.3 percent of all closings. Realtors, however, said there’s hopeful news here, too, as homes in financial distress are now exiting the marketplace faster than they are entering it.

“Rising home prices will still be the final phase of recovery,” Fazendin said. “We firmly believe that what we’re seeing now is setting the stage for better times ahead.”