The real estate market for the week of October 1st, 2008

While sellers continue to list fewer homes, buyers remain firmly in control in
the Twin Cities housing market. New listings on the market for the week
ending September 16 were behind the same time last year by 11.4 percent,
while newly signed purchase agreements (pending sales) fell by 26.3 percent
for the same time period. With slow sales comes decreased inventory
absorption; the number of homes for sale is 9.9 percent higher than at this
time in 2006.

The SDR increased slightly to 10.47, which means there
are currently 10.47 homes on the market for every buyer—a new October
record. Following the key interest rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve,
rates dropped slightly from last month to 6.7 percent. With home prices
declining moderately, further rate declines would improve affordability.
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