July 2024 Advocacy Report

Here is your advocacy update for the month of July! 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.

SPAAR's Candidate Endorsement

SPAAR has begun its 2024 candidate endorsement process, and the advocacy team is looking for volunteers for candidate interviews taking place in mid-September.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to meet and interview candidates who keep Realtor® interests in mind during their tenure in local elected offices. Contact SPAAR’s government affairs directors Becky Wegscheid or Simon Opatz with questions or to volunteer.

June 2024 Local Market Update

U.S. existing-home sales declined for the third consecutive month, as higher mortgage rates and rising sales prices hindered market activity during what has traditionally been one of the busiest months of the year. According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), sales of previously owned homes dipped 0.7% month-over-month and 2.8% year-over-year, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.11 million units.

New Listings in the Twin Cities region decreased 5.8% to 6,358. Pending Sales were down 10.8% to 4,469. Inventory levels rose 10.6% to 8,905 units.

Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 1.8% to $390,000. Days on Market was up 9.7% to 34 days. Buyers felt empowered as Months Supply of Homes for Sale was up 14.3% to 2.4 months.

Nationally, total housing inventory grew 6.7% month-over-month to 1.28 million units heading into June, for a 3.7 months’ supply at the current sales pace, according to NAR. However, the increase in supply has yet to temper home prices, which have continued to rise nationwide. At last measure, the median existing-home price climbed to $419,300, a 5.8% increase from the same period last year and a record high for the month.

Your Local Market Update can be found here.

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 Summer of 2024 has been beautiful but hot! If you're looking for great blockbusters to see while getting out of the summer heat, SPAAR's government affairs directors, Simon Opatz and Becky Wegscheid, have you covered. Let us know which ones you head to the theaters to see!

Twisters (July 19)

A retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies.

Deadpool & Wolverine (July 26)

Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he crosses paths with the loudmouth Deadpool. They team up to defeat a common enemy.

It Ends with Us (August 9)

Adapted from the Colleen Hoover novel, Lily overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life. A chance meeting with a neurosurgeon sparks a connection but Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her parents' relationship.

Alien Romulus (August 16)

While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

The Crow (August 23)

When soulmates Eric and Shelly are brutally murdered, Eric is given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself and sets out to seek revenge, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.