The Twin Cities remains a strong seller’s real estate market, with pending home sales and median prices both jumping in March. In fact, homes are selling so fast that buyers are having trouble finding houses to make an offer on before it’s off the market.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that area Realtor associations claimed 5,681 new purchase agreements signed in March, a 12.6 percent increase over March 2105. The median sales price rose 5.7 percent to $222,000 year-over-year, even as sellers accepted offers at original list price 96.7 percent of the time.
Despite the soaring sales rate, new listings rose just 0.5 percent and remain at a 13-year low, the Pioneer Press says. Homes that did hit the market stayed there just 85 days, down 17.5 percent.
Of course, the market is somewhat different, depending on which part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro you are looking at. Properties listed above $417,000 took an average of 7.3 months to sell, while houses priced below the $222,000 median lasted just 2.2 months to sell, on average.
With the market as tipped toward the sellers as it is, the chances of a mistake can go up, as the parties feel pressure to rush through the sales process. Buying and selling a home has several important legal steps, and a mistake can lead to a serious dispute later on.
Whether you are seeking to avoid legal headaches, or are facing unexpected problems related to a real estate transaction, you could definitely use the help of a real estate attorney.