2010 Craft Talk

- The Twin Cities residential real estate market saw home sales increase 16% in 2009 while home prices rose 9.8% since 2000, though prices remain down 28.4% from their 2006 peak. - Mortgage rates are at historic lows of 5% but qualifying for loans has become more difficult, and 43% of 2009 sales were lender-mediated compared to a historical average of 2%. - The real estate industry has consolidated and downsized, with the number of agents dropping from 25,000 to 15,000, while new construction focuses on smaller, cheaper homes built to order rather than speculation.Read less