Q1 Numbers Show Apple Valley Home Prices Down, Closed Sales Up

The Twin Cities real estate market continued its downward spiral in the first quarter, with the number of new listings plummeting almost 25 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010, and the median sales price down almost 12 percent.

Apple Valley’s housing market reflects these overall trends, with 276 new listings first quarter of 2011—28.5 percent fewer than last year—and a median sales price of $140,000, a decrease of about 19 percent.

“These are a comparison to last year, which was a tax incentive year,” Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors communications director Greg Sax said. “So the numbers are going to be down, no matter what.

“At the same time, we are seeing that lender-mediated properties are still dominating the market. We’d like to see fewer of those, but it is what it is.”

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

But during the first quarter of 2011, the median home sales price in Apple Valley experienced a bigger decreases than in the Twin Cities overall.

Beattie said foreclosures and short sales are still out there “and they’re still driving all the values down.”

“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.

Apple Valley has tended to have a good mix of types and prices of homes on the market, Beattie said, but there have been more townhouses for sale, and not as many of the single-family homes in the $200,000 or $300,000 range. Homes that last year might have sold for $500,000 are being listed at $450,000 or $475,000, she said.

A bright spot in the statistics was an increase in closed sales. While in the Twin Cities overall, closed sales were up 1 percent, Apple Valley saw a 14-percent increase over quarter one of 2010, and a 32 percent increase in March compared to March last year, from 47 to 62.

Samone Eckholm, a Realtor with Keller Williams Premier Realty in Apple Valley, said the first quarter statistics for Apple Valley are reflected in her office, as well. Because of slumping prices, realtors “have to work twice as hard to make as much money.”

But, “the buyers are buying, and it’s still a great time to buy,” she said. Eckholm said she’s been seeing more properties get multiple offers, and sellers are becoming more realistic.

Beattie said she’s seen sellers underprice their homes and make sure they look good, trying to give incentive to buy a “traditional” home over a foreclosure that comes as is.

“They’re starting to be wise to that,” she said.

The pool of buyers has shrunk, she said, but the current climate has created opportunities for people who might not have been able to buy in a better market.

“It closes the door on some people, but it opens the door for a lot of people, too,” she said.

Despite dismal regional numbers—median sales price decreasing from $162,000 to $143,000, percentage of original list price changing from 93.5 percent to 88.4 percent during quarter one of 2011, and new listings going from 23,754 first quarter 2010 to 17,845 after this first quarter—Cari Linn, president-elect of MAAR, expressed optimism.

“Layoffs have decreased, and we are building on 13 consecutive months of job growth, which bodes well for local real estate,” she said in a statement. “In addition to new housing demand, we should eventually see the mortgage delinquency rate drop and fewer distressed sales pressuring prices downward.”

Sax also said the real estate industry is “cautiously optimistic” about the upcoming summer and fall.

“That’s where we feel like we’ll start to see some relief,” he said. “It isn’t going to be extreme, but it won’t be as trying as last summer.”

Eckholm said she thinks closed sales will continue to climb this summer.

“We’re slowly getting out of this,” she said.

Beattie said the housing market will get better as consumers start buying more, though it might not be as soon as people thought.

“I think our future outlook is not grim, by any means,” she said, “but you’re not gonna see it change a whole lot in the next three or four years.”