Aggressive seller pricing and steadily improving buying opportunities continue to be the hallmarks of the 2008 Twin Cities housing market so far, according to new analysis from the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR). The substantial corrective price declines first seen in January were further fleshed out in February, as the median sales price for the month of $195,060 is a decrease of 12.5 percent from the same month last year.

With builders, banks and traditional home sellers facing a challenging environment, they have priced their product to move. “It feels like the pendulum is finally starting to make the big swing,” said Kevin Knudsen, President of MAAR. The price corrections we need are working alongside great inventory selection. And the recent FHA loan limit increase is going to have a dramatic and positive effect on buyers searching for secure financing.” Year to date, Chanhassen has an average sales price in of $406,982, ahead of last year by 10.9 percent. The Twin Cities region as a whole has seen a decline of 9.7 percent in price for the same time period comparison.

So far in 2008, there have been 17 closed home sales in Chanhassen, behind last year by 19.4 percent. For the entire Twin Cities region there have been 3,978 closed sales, compared to 2,502 last year. At the end of February, Chanhassen had 96 single-family detached units available on the market, with 86 townhouse or condominium units on the market as well. Twin Cities inventory levels remain at record highs, with 29,842 units on the market at month end for the entire region, up 11.3 percent from this time last year.“We don't want to sugarcoat the news of declining prices, yet we have to keep perspective as to what these prices mean and recognize that they represent the kind of correction that we need,” said Knudsen.