Agenda - Council Work Session - 11/24/2009

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FOR-SALE HOUSING MARKET CONDITIONS TABLE FS-4 DISTRIBUTION OF MULTIFAMILY HOME SALES RAMSEY MARKET AREA 2005 & 2008 PMA SMA Price Ran2e No. of Homes %Ch. No. of Homes ~AIIIJ:_ ~AIIIJ.:" $0 to $149,999 4 75 1775.0% 138 244 76.8% $150,000 to $199,999 37 19 -48.6% 524 161 -69.3% $200,000 to $249,999 13 9 -30.8% 61 24 -60.7% $250,000 to $299,999 7 4 -42.9% 10 5 -50.0% $300,000 to $349,999 6 0 -100.0% 8 2 -75.0% $350,000 to $399,999 4 1 -75.0% 4 2 -50.0% $400,000 to $499,999 0 0 6 0 $500,000 + 0 0 0 0 71 108 52.1% 751 438 -41.7% %Ch. ~AlIm_ 142 319 124.6% 561 180 -67.9% 74 33 -55.4% 17 9 -47.1% 14 2 -85.7% 8 3 -62.5% 6 0 0 0 822 546 -33.6% Sources: Northstar MLS; Maxfield Research Inc. Overall, for-sale housing conditions in the Ramsey Market Area are consistent with conditions in other outlying areas of the Twin Cities Metro Area as well as much ofthe Nation. Increased market activity among lender-mediated sales (foreclosed homes) will help to reduce supply and stabilize the market to reduce the downward price trend. Increases in employment will create in- creased demand for housing causing the pendulum to hopefully swing in the opposite direction. The $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit has aided in increasing market activity at the lower end of the price spectrum, but financing still remains difficult. The housing market is not likely to show significant signs of improvement until job growth oc- curs and buyers feel more confident about taking on a home mortgage. The recovery in the for- sale market is expected to be slow and gradual and it will likely take several years for the market to return to stability. SinJ!le-Familv and Multifamilv Active ListinJ!s Table FS-5 and Table FS-6 provide data on all single-family and multifamily homes that are cur- rently listed for-sale in the Ramsey Market Area. The data was provided by the Northstar Multi- ple Listing Service. The following points summarize key findings. · There are approximately 1,075 single-family homes and 335 multifamily homes listed for sale in the Ramsey Market Area overall, which represents roughly a seven- to eight- month supply of homes (based on recent figures on the total number of annual sales). According to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, a five-month supply of homes is considered to a balanced market. Therefore, there is still an over-supply of homes available for sale. MAXFIELD RESEARCH INC.