February 2025 Advocacy Report
SPAAR - 02/27/2025
Here is your advocacy update for the month of February! The Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors® Advocacy Report goes out each month and is your one-stop-shop for everything related to Government Affairs throughout SPAAR's jurisdiction.
The Advocacy Report goings out to the entirety of SPAAR's membership. The Report go out monthly. If you're not receiving the advocacy report and would like to, email spaar@spaar.com.
If you have any questions or hear of local advocacy issues that affect the real estate industry, please contact SPAAR's Government Affairs Directors, Becky Wegscheid and Simon Opatz.
January Local Market Update
U.S. existing-home sales advanced for the third straight month, climbing 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million units, a 10-month high, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Sales were up 9.3% year-over-year, driven largely by purchases of homes priced $500,000 and above. Month-over-month, sales rose in the South, Northeast, and the West but fell in the Midwest, with all four regions reporting year-over-year gains.
New Listings in the Twin Cities region increased 8.3% to 4,333. Pending Sales were down 5.1% to 2,609. Inventory levels fell 1.9% to 6,823 units.
Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 5% to $370,000. Days on Market was up 17.9% to 66 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Homes for Sale was down 5.3% to 1.8 months.
According to NAR, total housing inventory was 1.15 million units heading into January, a 13.5% decrease from the previous month but a 16.2% increase from the same period one year earlier, for a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace.
Housing supply remains down compared to pre-pandemic levels, and the limited number of homes on the market continues to push sales prices higher nationwide, with the median existing-home price rising 6% year-over-year to $404,400.
Click Here for Your City's Local Market Update
Advocacy Updates
To view your Advocacy Updates from the East, South, North, West Metro and Minnesota and Nationwide News, check out the Advocacy Updates blog.
The GADs Recommend
The 97th Academy Awards are set for Sunday March 2nd. Below are the Best Picture nominees that SPAAR’s government affairs directors, Simon Opatz and Becky Wegscheid, recommend. Let us know which one you think will win on Sunday!
"Dune: Part Two" explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost....
ANORA is an audacious, thrilling, and comedic variation on a modern day Cinderella story. Mikey Madison captivates as Ani, a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya, the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire.
Elwood Curtis's college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he's sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South.
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You, only better in every way. You should try this new product, it's called The Substance.
Member Updates
If you have an issue in your community that needs the attention of Realtors® or if you have interesting advocacy stories to share, please reach out to Vice President of Advocacy & Community Engagement Joe McKinley or Government Affairs Directors, Simon Opatz or Becky Wegscheid.
The work of the Realtor® Party relies on your investment in the Realtors® Political Action Committee (RPAC)
Click here to learn about RPAC's non-partisan advocacy for homeowners and the real estate industry.
Featured Content
Time for a few more CE Credits
Tune into SPAAR’s course offerings for CE Credits to stay compliant or simply to take advantage of topics offered.