Twin Cities homebuyers no longer waiting for lower mortgage rates

Higher mortgage rates and a shortage of listings have yet to stifle home sales in the Twin Cities metro.

Last month, there were 3,806 house closings across the region, a 13.8% increase from last year, according to a monthly sales report from the Minneapolis Area Realtors. The median price of those sales last month was $385,250, 4.1% increase from a year ago. At the same time, buyers signed 4,334 purchase agreements, 8.5% more than this time last year.

“People are realizing that interest rates are what they are,” said Brady Holland, a Twin Cities real estate agent. “They’re saying, ‘We’re not going to sit for another year.’ If they need to move, they’re going to move.”

Mortgage interest rates, which have inflated house payments and chipped away at buying power, posted a series of very small but steady increases last month. The latest data shows after a five-week climb, rates have been hovering around 7% but ticked down a bit during…