Minnesota Market Update-Inventory falls to 2005 levels-Good News for Sellers

The Minnesota real estate market reached a milestone not seen since 2005.
You remember 2005, don't you? When sellers had to auction off there properties to hoards of buyers bidding higher and higher... I fondly remember a stretch where we had one seller with 15 offers, and one with 17 offers--it was crazy.
As of today in the Twin Cities, the number of active listings for sale is down 20.0% from late August 2010. The industry term for number of active listings for sale is inventory. For a seller, this often translates to how many properties are competing for real estate buyers. The current inventory is roughly at 2005 levels, better (for sellers) than anytime in the past 6 years.
To be sure, the other market statistics are not as positive as they were in 2005. Days on market, home values, etc. are not where they were in 2005. But decreasing inventory is likely the first step to seeing improvement in all those other statistics.
I don't expect the 6 year low in inventory to get much coverage in the media. In general, keep in mind that media reports about the housing market tend to be overstated. Most reports talk about the "national" real estate statistics, which are dominated by the worst real estate markets like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Miami. Other areas, including Minnesota, are much better off, but that isn't as exciting of news to report. Houses are still selling.
Note: Albert Hepp, BuySelf Realty's Lead Broker, has been blogging about flat fee real estate since 2005, which is available at BuySelf.com/albert