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New listings and closed sales fall

Demand continued to outpace the available housing supply in July as new listings declined -0.2% and closed sales fell -8.7% compared to 2020. As buyers chased scarce inventory with multiple offers, the median sales price rose +12.5% to $315,000, setting another historic high. The intense activity meant homes spent less time on the market, down to just 25 days—an unprecedented low. On average, sellers were receiving 102.7% of their asking price. The overall supply of homes for sale was down -29.7% to 11,854 and month’s supply sank -34.8% to 1.5 month’s worth of inventory on the market.

“Buyers were still out in full force, and many of them hoped to close on homes before the new school year. Unfortunately, the market could not meet their demand. Even though potential sellers were almost guaranteed to get their asking price, they were reluctant to list their homes because they didn’t want to become buyers in this hyper competitive environment,” said Chris Galler, CEO of Minnesota Realtors. “Although there’s no easy way out of this situation, part of the solution lies in local and state governments easing restrictions, and helping developers build higher density, more affordable housing throughout the state.”

July year-over-year summary:

• Closed sales: -8.7% to 9,615
• Median sales price: +12.5% to $315,00
• Average sales price: +12.9% to $359,700
• New listings: -0.2% to 11,499
• Pending sales: -14.2% to 8,923
• Days on the market: -43.2% to 25 days
• Homes for sale: -29.7% to 11,854

 Closed Home Sales Across Minnesota by Region

As the housing supply remained low, eight of the state’s 13 regions reported declines in closed sales compared to July 2020. This included the seven-county Twin Cities region, which was down -3.2%. Closed sales were up in three regions, with double-digit growth in the Upper MN Valley, 36.8%, and Northwest, 20.0%. See the chart below for more details comparing closed home sales for July 2021 to July 2020.

The seven-county Twin Cities region comprises Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties. The official Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metropolitan statistical area recognized by the Census Bureau consists of 16 counties, on which MAR & SPAAR local associations report.