Closed Sales on Apple Valley Homes Lose Pace During Q2

After that the Apple Valley and Twin Cities housing markets would pick up a bit this summer, recent real estate numbers for Apple Valley again show declines in most categories to date during 2011, as compared to the first half of 2010.

And whereas the bright spot a few months ago was that closed sales during quarter one exceeded those in quarter one of 2010 by 14 percent—with 129 this year, compared to 113 last year—by the end of quarter two, the year-to-date closed sales lagged behind the first half of 2010 by nearly 11 percent, with 312 closed sales in the first half of this year compared to 349 last year.

In March, closed sales exceeded March 2010 by almost 32 percent, with 62 as compared to 47. In June, closed sales fell behind June 2010, with 61 as compared to 91 last year—a 35-percent decrease.

Median sales prices this year in Apple Valley also have begun to fare worse than in the Twin Cities in general. During third quarter 2010, Apple Valley’s median sales prices made more gains than those in the Twin Cities as a whole, but during 2011 the city began to experience greater median sales price losses than the Twin Cities area. That downward trend continued through the end of the second quarter.

Delinda Beattie, a Realtor with RE/MAX Results in Apple Valley, said in April that when median sales prices in Apple Valley spiked in 2010, it was likely during a time when there were more foreclosures popping up in places like Minneapolis and St. Paul—Apple Valley didn’t have as many, she said.

Beattie said foreclosures and short sales can drive down all home values.

“Until those are taken care of and sold and out of inventory … you’re not gonna see that median sales price go up,” she said.

But while the $147,050 median sales price to date in 2011 remains below the $184,000 median sales price halfway through 2010, it did make gains against the year-to-date median at the end of first quarter this year, which was $135,995.

Median sales prices also have climbed each month since March in the Twin Cities as a whole.

"Moderate price gains by year's end aren't out of the question," Brad Fisher, president of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, said in a press release. "We are not in a so-called double-dip situation. Today's prices are a return to sustainable recovery after a tax incentive honeymoon" in 2010.

New listings during June also increased slightly over June 2010, with 123 new listings last June and 128 this past month; year-to-date totals still lag behind last year's, at 626 compared to 735. In the Twin Cities, the number of new listings in June decreased by about 5.5 percent compared to June 2010, according to MAAR.

MAAR also reported that the 24,873 homes on the market in the Twin Cities during June was the lowest count since 2005; in June 2007, there were 36,113 listings in the Twin Cities.