Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis: August 2008

As we have seen in months previous, new listings for homes fell in Saint Paul, Minnesota, once again during August, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  During the month of August this year, there were 553 new listings in St. Paul.  Throughout August of last year, there were 641 new listings, a decrease of about -13.7%.  This is similar to July's drop in new listings of -13.6%. The Como / Como Park neighborhood of Saint Paul encountered the greatest reduction in new listings during August at -32.5%.  The only neighborhood to have an increase in new listings in August compared to last year was Merriam Park, where listings rose 6.7%.  (To see a Barker & Hedges blog entry about July 2008 St. Paul Market Activity, please click here.)

Como 27 (-32.5%)
Crocus Hill 41 (-0.0%)
Downtown Saint Paul 29 (-21.6%)
East Side 113 (-15.0%)
Highland Park 42 (-4.5%)
Mac-Groveland 31 (-16.2%)
Merriam Park 16 (+6.7%)
North End / Frogtown 71 (-17.4%)
Phalen 82 (-3.5%)
Southeast 28 (-17.6%)
St. Anthony / Midway 29 (-31.0%)
West 7th 16 (-15.8%)
West Side / Cherokee 26 (-7.1%)

Switching topics to Saint Paul’s posted new listing for January through August, there were 4,922 new listings within the city.  That is a decrease of -10.2% compared to the 5,482 new listings recorded within the same period of time in 2007.  The greatest new listing variations occurred in the St. Anthony / Midway neighborhoods, where new listings have dropped by nearly 30% for the past two months in a row, whereas the West Side / Cherokee neighborhoods’ new listings of homes for sale have increased 14.4% in comparison to last year.

Como 290 (-19.2%)
Crocus Hill 372 (-15.3%)
Downtown Saint Paul 300 (-20.6%)
East Side 1046 (-3.7%)
Highland Park 327 (-12.3%)
Mac-Groveland 278 (-20.3%)
Merriam Park 143 (-22.3%)
North End / Frogtown 596 (-8.3%)
Phalen 702 (+10.0%)
Southeast 189 (-21.3%)
St. Anthony / Midway 253 (-29.9%)
West 7th 146 (-20.2%)
West Side / Cherokee 262 (+14.4%)

Fewer new listings did not negatively affect the amount of closed sales on homes which occurred in Saint Paul, Minnesota. At 301, there were 2.0% more closed sales this year during August than the 295 during the same month of 2007.  For the year to date, there have been 1,838 close sales from January through August.  Last year by this time, there were 1,863 closed sales, bringing us within -1.3% of last year’s sales figures for the 2008 year to date!  The West Side / Cherokee, Southeat, East Side and North End / Frogtown neighborhoods have seen particularly large increases in sales compared to last year. Closed sales on homes for August 2008 in Saint Paul by neighborhood:

Como 20 (-13.0%)
Crocus Hill 20 (-47.4%)
Downtown Saint Paul 11 (-26.7%)
East Side 60 (+50.0%)
Highland Park 24 (-35.1%)
Mac-Groveland 26 (-13.3%)
Merriam Park 7 (-46.2%)
North End / Frogtown 37 (+85.0%)
Phalen 29 (+31.8%)
Southeast 17 (+54.5%)
St. Anthony / Midway 19 (-36.7%)
West 7th 11 (+22.2%)
West Side / Cherokee 17 (+142.9%)

One real estate factor which is drastically compared to last year is the sales prices of homes in Saint Paul, which are continuing to decrease.  The average sales price of a home within Saint Paul was $187,181 in August 2008 in sharp contrast to the $248,588 the sale of a home brought in 2007.  That is a decrease of -24.7%. This month, all neighborhoods seemed to experience the downward trend in home sales prices.  The average sales price year-to-date in St. Paul is not much different at $184,373. During the same time period in 2007, the average sales price of a home was $236,940, a reduction of -22.2%. The percentage of St. Paul homes which sold at their original list price has fallen to 92.6%. In 2007, 94.5% of the homes sold in August were purchased for their original listing price.

Average prices of homes sold in Saint Paul by neighborhood during July 2008:

Como $245,880 (+22.6%)
Crocus Hill $252,291 (-38.9%)
Downtown Saint Paul $166,000 (-3.6%)
East Side $111,542 (-27.1%)
Highland Park $310,467 (-10.4%)
Mac-Groveland $374,242 (+24.1%)
Merriam Park $272,286 (-16.6%)
North End / Frogtown $86,880 (-37.4%)
Phalen $108,514 (-30.4%)
Southeast $204,555 (+2.4%)
St. Anthony / Midway $195,166 (-13.3%)
West 7th $168,245 (-8.6%)
West Side / Cherokee $130,113 (-27.8%)

Homes for sale in St. Paul tend to be on the market longer before selling than they did in 2007. In August of 2008, a home in Saint Paul was on the market for an average of 133 days at the time of sale.  In August of 2007, homes were on the market in Saint Paul for an average of 111 days before selling. The amount of time a home spends on the market varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, of course.  Homes sold in Highland Park, homes have gone from spending 58 days on the market last year to 137 days this year.  Merriam Park and West 7th neighborhoods, homes are selling after an average of just over 2 months on the market.

Como 124 (+30.5%)
Crocus Hill 107 (+3.8%)
Downtown Saint Paul 150 (+2.5%)
East Side 152 (-5.1%)
Highland Park 137 (+138.3%)
Mac-Groveland 90 (-12.4%)
Merriam Park 62 (-31.6%)
North End / Frogtown 167 (+38.2%)
Phalen 119 (-32.4%)
Southeast 155 (+47.7%)
St. Anthony / Midway 171 (+93.0%)
West 7th 65 (-24.0%)
West Side / Cherokee 116 (-2.9%)

This is a brief analysis of the St. Paul real estate market based on calculations by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. These statistics do not reflect all situations.

Browse homes for sale by Saint Paul Neighborhood:

Battle Creek & Highwood Real Estate
Como/Como Park Real Estate
Downtown Real Estate
Greater East Side Real Estate
Hamline-Midway Real Estate
Highland Park Real Estate
Dayton’s Bluff Real Estate
Payne-Phalen Real Estate
Macalester-Groveland Real Estate
Merriam Park Real Estate
North End Real Estate
St. Anthony/Midway Real Estate
Summit Hill Real Estate
Summit University Real Estate
Thomas-Dale Real Estate
West Side Real Estate
West 7th Real Estate