Twin Cities home sales rose in November; median price hits record high

The housing market in the Twin Cities was far from frigid last month.

Houses sold lickety split and for record prices.

There were 4,595 sales that closed in November, 3.8 percent more than in the same month last year. The median price of those closings was $245,000, a 6.5 percent increase and a new high in the 13-county market, the Minneapolis Area Association of ­Realtors said Friday.

With just a month to go, 2017 is on pace to be the best in more than a decade for Twin Cities home sellers.

While there was a 6.4 percent decline in the number of buyers for houses priced at less than $249,900, there was a nearly 30 percent increase in the number of buyers who signed purchase agreements for houses priced at more than $1 million. Many of the upper-bracket deals happened in Minneapolis, where buyers snapped up several $1 million-plus condos in the Zenith and Legacy buildings.

Communities with an abundance of starter houses posted strong gains in sales and prices. That includes Hopkins, which had the biggest annual gain in the sale price per square foot.

The same was true of suburbs like New Brighton and Cambridge. Both of those cities saw a flurry of new home sales as well.

"The year is poised to end on a mostly positive note," said Kath Hammerseng, president-elect of the association. "Aside from inventory constraints and a thorny tax bill, construction activity, seller confidence and interest rates will be key indicators to watch in 2018."