Dwindling inventory and increasing prices pushed closed home sales in Minnesota down 12.9 percent over the previous February.

According to Minnesota Realtors, a membership organization supporting all 22,000 realtors in the state, new listings were down 8.5 percent compared to last year, with just 5,801 homes added to the market. 

Meanwhile consumer demand remained high, with the median sales price rising 7.8 percent to $304,500, and the average price hitting $353,409 – up 10.3 percent over last year. 

"We simply don’t have the inventory levels necessary to meet demand," Chris Galler, CEO of Minnesota Realtors said in a statement. "The combination of a falling Affordability Index and rising interest rates is causing significant problems for first-time homebuyers who have been counting pennies and waiting anxiously to purchase a home of their own."

Sellers are receiving 99.7 percent of their asking price as the statewide supply of homes declined 21 percent to 6,606 available units. 

Three regions reported increases – Southwest Central marking double-digit gains at 11.1 percent, Southeast at 5.9 percent and Southwest at 1.6 percent. 

The largest regional declines included West Central (27.4 percent), East Central (18.1 percent) and Northwest (17.6 percent). 

To see the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the Fox 9 news website https://www.fox9.com/news/minnesota-home-sales-decrease-in-february-amid-shrinking-inventory