Last Spring Open House "Extravaganza" Held Sunday, May 1

Edina, Minn. – April 27, 2011 – Edina Realty is holding its last spring "Open House Extravaganza" on Sunday, May 1, when hundreds of homes will be held open throughout Minn., western Wisc. and Fargo, N.D.

There are still lots of homes on the market – more than 24,000 properties in the 13-county metro area alone – but homebuyers are slowly working through the available inventory of homes. The number of active listings in the metro area has dropped by 5 percent, and the number of new listings is also down by 30 percent compared to last year.

Spring came late to Minnesota, so the spring housing market also got a late start, according to Bob Peltier, president and CEO of Edina Realty Home Services. "The fact that we're not seeing a lot of new listings in early spring is not all that unusual," Peltier said. "Sellers will typically do some homework before diving into the market."

Peltier said that because foreclosures are still driving down home prices, some sellers may be disappointed in the pricing advice they get from their REALTOR®. "But most people aren't just selling a home – they're buying one, too," he said. "That's when you'll see that you can buy a lot more house for your money and get the best interest rates we've seen since 1955." The housing affordability index, which takes into account home prices, interest rates and consumer income, is at its highest or best peak since 2001, the first year that this data was tracked by the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®.

Peltier also said that when inventory levels are down, there is greater competition for stand-out properties, so serious buyers should be ready to make quick decisions and solid offers lest they get beat out by a higher bidder.

On Edina Realty's website, www.edinarealty.com, house-hunters can easily select and search for the features they most value in a home as well as the areas and neighborhoods they want to live in. Detailed information on Minneapolis neighborhoods can now be found at http://www.edinarealty.com/mn/minneapolis. Consumers can now see sold prices for homes that sold in the last two years on www.edinarealty.com. Key parts of the site are also accessible on Edina Realty's mobile-friendly website, m.edinarealty.com and Edina Realty's iPhone and Android phone apps.

For more information, or to find a real estate agent in your area, visit www.edinarealty.com.

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.