I could easily link hundreds of stories, articles and opinions on this matter. When will the market rebound, improve and just show some improvement is the hot topic all over the place right now.

Lets start with this, real estate is local so not all areas are affected the same. I have spoken to some agents as recently as this week that are seeing strong growth to others stating they see a very stable market with no upswing but more importantly no down-turn. In fact with our area of Minneapolis and the Twin Cities we have cities here that are very different from cities just a few miles up the road.

Here is a great area statistic map to look at for your area to see how much it’s up, down or maintaining. The “average” area may be down 5-7% overall for the Twin Cities & surrounding suburbs over the past year, again that’s on average. There is no denying that the home prices are down and the market needs to rid itself of some inventory but there are good signs recently. Minnesota was just named one of the areas fast improving and actually seeing an upswing this past month.

Most economist who study this stuff say we have some time yet, Ive heard 2010 and 2011 thrown out as a gauge to when the market may stabilize. I have heard many agents state the same numbers.

One thing to understand is these estimates are not always local but they are good to look at. Numbers like these are based off many things but one being supply and demand. How many homes are available right now and how many buyers do we have looking and buying. The biggest impact of supply has been the foreclosure and short sale market. The foreclosure market infects the market with tons of inventory driving prices down as well as the majority being vacant and often in disrepair is not helping either.

The government has many things in place right now as I am sure you have read that will hopefully curb more and future foreclosures which will then have a real positive impact on the supply and demand.

The real and more concerning topic though from what I hear every day on the streets though is, can a home even sell now? Short answer is, of course you can. The fact is the majority of properties are selling and achieving a decent price when staged and marketed right. Consider this also, if you’re buying up you have a great chance to get some instant equity with a purchase in today’s market.

With interest rates still at historic rates and home prices very affordable there is still room to make a smart move in today’s Minneapolis real estate market.