Twin Cities Housing Market Has Busiest January in 15 Years
According to a monthly report from the Minneapolis Area Realtors (MAR) and the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors (SPAAR), January 2021 was the busiest January for home sales in 15 years. The report showed that buyers signed 5.6% more purchase agreements in January 2021 than buyers did in January 2020. January 2020 had already been noted as an unusually busy month for the Twin Cities housing market. Additionally, closings in January 2021 were unusually high, increasing nearly 15% from the same time period last year.
MAR and SPAAR’s report showed pending sales in the twin cities have jumped 5.6% and the median prices of homes have risen 11.5% in January from where they were a year ago. In Minneapolis, there was a large increase in new listings during January, but an even larger increase—a 40% increase—in pending sales. St. Paul saw similar trends. Across the metro, there were 42.6% fewer properties for sale at the end of January in comparison to 2020’s numbers. The pace of these sales means there are enough listings to last less than a month. Usually, a balanced market has a 4 to 6 month supply of listings.
Realtors and representatives of MAR and SPAAR believe that there are a number of factors contributing to this increase, but specifically note that low mortgage rates and the COVID-19 vaccine rollout are likely some of the biggest contributors to the current market.