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Plymouth MN Single Family Home Prices Decline by 5% in First Half of 2009

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

While overall closed transactions for single family homes in Plymouth has remained steady comparing the first half of 2008 vs. the first half of 2009, the average price did drop by over 5% so far this year compared to the same period last year.

Key highlights comparing 2009 vs. 2008 – first half of each year:

  • Slightly larger homes are being sold in 2009 – 2973 total finished square feet versus 2845 for 2008.
  • Each home has slightly more bedrooms, bathrooms as well as garage stalls.
  • The average original list price actually didn’t differ very much from year to year.  In 2008, that number was $461,150 and in 2009 it was $452,354 which is less than a 2% difference.
  • However the average final sales price did end up being quite a bit different: $431,063 for 2008 $410,042 for 2009 for a 5+% decline in prices.

Two other noteworthy items include:

  • Average price per total finished square feet declined by nearly 10% to $137.92 for 2009 vs. $151.52 for 2008.
  • Average sold price to original list price declined again to 90.6% for 2009 compared to 93.4% for 2008.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
Plymouth MN 1st Half 2008 vs 1st Half 2009

Plymouth MN 1st Half 2008 vs 1st Half 2009 Summary

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Plymouth, MN Closed Home Sales Down 32% 1st Half 2009 vs. 1st Half 2008 for $300,000 – $400,000 Price Range

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Now that the first half of the year is completed, we can start to see some of the bigger trends.  While the overall Twin Cities market is showing a nice improvement in sales activity compared to last year, that is due in large part to many of the very cheapest properties being absorbed by investors and first time home buyers.  The mid and upper bracket remain a bit of a struggle.

Consider Plymouth,MN…in the $300,000 – $400,000 price range for single family homes.

  • In 2008 there were 69 closed transactions in the first 6 months of the year compared to only 57 for 2009
  • Average Price in 2008 was $343,060 and it was $343,778 for 2009 – dead even
  • Average price per total finished square feet: 2008 it was $137.38 and in 2009 it was $122.84 or a decline of about 10.5%

For the homes sold in the Wayzata School District of Plymouth, overall sales are lagging compared to the rest of Plymouth, but the price per finished square foot finished has not declined quite as much as the entire city of Plymouth,MN.

  • 37 closed transaction in 2008 vs. 25 closed in 2009.  That’s a decline in closed sales of 32%!
  • Average sold price in 2008 was $345,950 and it was $350,431 for 2009
  • Average price per finished square feet was $140.09 in 2008 and $128.44 in 2009 for a decline of 8.3%

Note: the source of this information is from me, John Murphy and my searches that I ran on NorthStar MLS – 13 Country Region – specific run for the City of Plymouth, MN and then just those in the Wayzata School District.  Single Family homes only.  Time periods compared:  closed sales between 1/1/08-6/30/08 and 1/1/09-6/30/09 for single family homes that closed between $300,000 – $400,000.

The Minneapolis Realtors Association will publish the first half of the year results by Friday this week.  You can find that data here.

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Twin Cities Real Estate Market Activity – Week of July 6, 2009

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors released its weekly report last night and we continue to see more of the same.  Listings are down 21% from one year ago and pending sales activity is running 31% higher compared to the same week one year ago.

Below is the note from the association:

Welcome back from the 4th of July weekend. Our post-4th news is remarkably the same as our pre-4th news. New listings continue at an atypically slow pace but pending sales are robust.

The 1,719 new listings for the week ending June 27 is 18.9 percent less than a year ago. The 26,043 total listings available is 21.3 percent less than last year. However, the 1,121 pending sales for this week excels last year by a giant 31 percent.

Additional metrics worth paying attention to this month:

  • Supply-Demand Ratio: 4.9 homes per buyer; 32.6 percent below last year; lowest since 2005.
  • Days on Market Until Sale: 140; seemingly high but crawling down to a pre-bubble level.

Housing market improvement has been significant in the lower price ranges, while homes priced above conforming loan limits still face significant challenges. With fewer homes available than last year, the number of days on market dwindling, and the clock ticking on government incentives, the buyer advantage is not as great as it once was.

Click here for this week’s full report.

Since I didn’t get a chance to publish last week’s report, that is provided below.  Pay particular attention to the last paragraph where the association notes the breakdown in activity by various pricing categories:

Weekly Market Activity Report: week of June 29, 2009

The number of homes for sale in the Twin Cities metro area continues to decline relative to a year ago. As of Monday morning this week, there were 26,674 homes for sale in the region, down 20.9 percent from a year ago. In other words, we’ve lost 1 in 5 homes in our inventory in the last year.

Sales are a different story. For the week ending June 20, there were 1,156 signed purchase agreements, up 32.1 percent from the same week in 2008. That’s the 12th week of the last 13 to feature a year-over-year increase in sales activity exceeding 20 percent.

We must bear in mind, however, that sales are only up in certain categories and price ranges. Year to date, traditional home sales (excluding foreclosures and short sales) are still down 17.8 percent from last year. New construction sales are down 21.7 percent from last year. And sales of homes priced above $350,000 are down 26.8 percent from a year ago. The lion’s share of market activity is taking place in the lower price ranges this year. (emphasis added).

Click here for the June 29, 2009 full report.

MAAR Weekly Activity Report Logo

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School House Magazine – A Guide to Minnesota Schools

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

This magazine is often found in real estate offices across the metro, but they have a very helpful web site for those who want to know more about specific public and private schools across the Twin Cities.

I will post it as a link on the right hand side of my blog if you need to access it in the future.  I will label it “Schools in Minnesota.”

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Southern California Foreclosure Draws 135 Offers!

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Check this story out…as I’ve mentioned before, many of the banks are listing properties at artificially low asking prices in order to generate multiple offers.   In the scenario with this particular home in this story, it had sold for $760,000 during the boom.  It came back on the market and $386,000 and eventually sold in multiples (135 offers) for $501,000.

We are hearing stories in the Twin Cities of multiple offers on bank properties, but nothing like this.

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Cap and Trade Bill and Residential Real Estate

July 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The Cap-and-Trade Bill which narrowly passed the House of Representatives a couple of weeks ago with a 219-212 vote is set to go to the Senate for its review later this summer or early fall.  Besides the massive tax increases and fees that will hit the American public, there was the possibility that homeowners could be left out in the cold if they were required under the law to make certain modifications or disclosures about their properties when it came time to sell their home.

The National Association of Realtors was activily working with Congress to try to minimize the impact the bill would have on existing homes so as to curtail any effort to stigmatize existing properties as carbon contributors to so called Global Warming.

The official name of the bill is “The American Clean Energy and Security Act” which was approved as H.R. 2554 and has since been renumbered to H.R. 2998.  Here’s a link to the National Association of Realtors analysis.


Here are the key legislative points:

  • Does not create a federal energy audit requirement for real property;
  • Exempts existing homes and buildings from any federal guidelines for new construction energy efficiency information labels;
  • Prohibits the implementation of any labeling during a sales transaction;
    NAR successfully argued that point of sale labels would have stigmatized existing property and complicated transactions.
  • Leaves the decision to states as to whether to require energy audits, disclosures, etc.;
  • Provided property owners with significant financial incentives, matching grants and tools to make property improvements and reduce their energy bills;
  • Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating residential and commercial buildings under the Clean Air Act;
  • Eliminated an early proposal to allow citizens to sue over minor climate risks under the Clean Air Act; and
  • Establishes green building incentives for HUD housing, including a loan program for renewable energy, block grants and credit for upgrades in mortgage underwriting.

More on Cap and Trade this fall when the Senate takes this up.

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