Edina, Minn.—January 19, 2011 – The market leader in real estate transactions and listings throughout Minnesota, western Wisconsin and Fargo, N.D., Edina Realty gained market share in both traditional and lender-mediated markets in 2010. Edina Realty increased its market share from 20.59 percent in 2009 to 21.53 percent in 2010, and now leads its nearest competitor by nearly 6 percentage points.
During 2010, Edina Realty handled more than 24,950 transactions (buy and sell side) and $5.3 billion in pending sales volume. Edina Realty took over 24,322 new listings, leading its closest competitor by over 8,400 units.
“Perhaps one of the most telling signs of this past year is the fact that our agents performed remarkably well despite the challenges,” said Bob Peltier, Edina Realty president and CEO. “Our agents sold 39 percent of their own listings, while our next two competitors sold only 30 percent and 19 percent of their own listings,” he said.
The year 2010 had some low lights. According to the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR), 37,608 homes sold in 2010, down 16.8 percent from 2009 and the lowest volume in eight years. The number of new properties put on the market – 82,127 homes – was also the lowest level in eight years. However, MAAR reports that the median sales price in the 13-county metro area was $169,900, up 2.3 percent from 2009.
“Last year’s market fell into three distinctly different phases: a boom during the tax credit period, recovery after the tax credits expired, and finally, something that resembled a more normal market,” Peltier said, adding that November 2010 was the first month after the tax credits expired that beat 2009 sales. Peltier also said high-end properties – homes over $500,000, and even those over $1 million – are selling better than last year, likely because move-up buyers are taking advantage of low mortgage rates and a healthy inventory of homes that are priced to move.
Of all the transactions handled by Edina Realty, 23.8 percent were traditional home sales and 16 percent were lender-mediated or homes that were lender-owned, short sales or in foreclosure. According to data from MAAR, lender-mediated transactions made up 40 percent of all transactions in 2010, compared to 43 percent of 2009 sales.
“We anticipate the market will continue making a slow recovery, as it’s still struggling with pricing, days on market and absorption,” Peltier said. “If you are just selling a home, you may be disappointed in the pricing advice your REALTOR® may give you. But most people aren’t just selling a home – they’re buying one, too.
That’s when you’ll see that you can buy a lot more house for your money than you could, say, three years ago. And you’re getting the best interest rates we’ve seen since 1955. There’s never been a better time to upgrade.”
Peltier also said he expects the foreclosure crisis to continue far into 2011 and beyond. “Unfortunately, we may even see more foreclosures in 2011 than last year, and a lot of them will happen early this year,” Peltier said, adding that many homes would have gone into foreclosure in 2010 but for the moratorium early in 2010 and the ‘robo-signing’ issues in the latter part of the year. Peltier expects the foreclosures will primarily take place in metro counties, and at higher price points.
Edina Realty’s website, www.edinarealty.com, continues to be the most popular site for people to go when they’re thinking about buying or selling their home. From foreclosure searches to a mobile-friendly version of the popular property search, www.edinarealty.com is the most comprehensive, user-friendly real estate website in the region, offering consumers all of the products, tools and information they need to make informed real estate decisions.
By summer 2011, Peltier expects to launch the new and improved version of its website. The goal is to make it even easier for visitors to get the information they want when they want it. In November, Edina Realty launched an iPhone application to enable users to access the best features from its website, and Edina Realty will be launching iPad and Android applications in the first quarter of 2011.
Edina Realty currently has over 2,300 REALTORS® operating out of approximately 60 offices. More than half of the firm’s REALTORS® and staff from Edina Realty and its parent company, HomeServices of America, www.homeservices.com, are attending Edina Realty’s annual “Expo,” held on Jan. 19 at Saint Paul RiverCentre, where they hear from the leadership team about the current state of the market, the firm’s 2011 strategies and the new advertising campaign.
Edina Realty, a subsidiary of HomeServices of America, is one of the nation’s largest real estate companies with approximately 60 real estate offices throughout Minnesota, North Dakota and western Wisconsin and nearly 2,300 REALTORS®. Edina Realty’s family of companies includes Edina Realty, Edina Realty Title, and Edina Realty Mortgage. Edina Realty handled more than 25,000 transactions and $5.3 billion in sales volume in 2010. For more information, visit www.edinarealty.com.
