Twin Cities Luxury Home Market Update Spring 2012

The luxury home market in the Twin Cities has taken quite a beating the last couple of years. Home values have plummeted, putting what were once million dollar homes into lower price ranges. For some home owners who bought 2005-2008, the news has been less than welcome, even devastating. Foreclosure was inevitable for a few, other have been able to refinance. But one thing I have learned from speaking to luxury home owners, they are taking it all in stride and working with the cards they have been dealt.

Currently the inventory of luxury homes has been dwindling across the Metro, good news for home sellers. Less inventory means less choices for buyers, and gives sellers a better chance of selling their home.  In Spring 2010, there were about 680 available homes for sale. Two years later, that number is down to around 615. As is typical for real estate in Minnesota, home inventory increases over the summer months, topping out in August and September. It will be interesting to see how the summer progresses and if the overall inventory remains low.

When it comes to how long a luxury home takes to sell in the Twin Cities, real estate agents turn to Days on the Market data. With Spring comes buyers. After waiting through the winter, they come out from the shadows and pluck down money for luxury homes. For reasons you can imagine here in Minnesota, it typically takes longer to sell in the winter. Starting this Spring 2012, the days it takes a luxury home to sell hovers around 170 days. While this may not sound like good news, when you compare it to Spring 2010 which hovered around 235 days, our current real estate market it doing quite well. I am pretty sure home owners would like 2012 market trends over two years ago!

If you are thinking of selling and would like a free micro analysis of your home in today’s market, please contact me!

(Data is comprised from top 10 most expensive zip codes in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Lake Minnetonka, and  surrounding Twin Cities Metro areas, using homes priced above $500,000)

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