Twin Cities home sales are on the rise away from foreclosures, according to housing data from September. The data showed that inventory rose in the 13-county market, resulting in it becoming more balanced between the sellers and the buyers.

With fewer distressed properties and more inventory on the market, the median sales price increased 5.1 percent year-over-year to $205,000, according to the data released by the Minneapolis and St. Paul Realtors associations. However, this figure is down from the $219,001 that was reported for August.

Year-on-year closed sales were down 7.1 percent to 4.462 in September. This adds to the inventory and continues the downward trend that has occurred so far in 2014. Year-to-year, closed sales were down 8 percent compared to 2013.

Basically, the market is going back to what it used to be. The absorption rate is consistent with a market transition back to territory that is more balanced. That means neither buyers nor sellers have an edge over the other.

To make the inventory on the market more diverse, new listings saw an increase of 7.1 percent. However, there was a 17.9 percent increase in traditional new listings. New listings consisting of short sales and foreclosures fell 42.5 percent and 42.2 percent respectively. This is a trend that contributed to the overall rise in inventory and home price.

When looking at the median sales price around the Twin Cities, Carver County had the highest at around $300,000 in March 2014. Pierce and Isanti Counties have maintained housing prices of around $100,000 or slightly above since September 2013. There has been a lot of fluctuation throughout the year, but it is all beginning to level out for the 13 counties, giving homeowners something more to go on in regards to their home values and where they are going to stand in the near future.

All of this is fantastic news for the Twin Cities housing market. The fact that there are so many missing closed sales shows that there is an even further reduction in the total market share of properties that are mediated by lenders.

In 2013, the lender mediated market share was more than 22 percent, while this year the number is holding around 13 percent.

Something else that helps is that individuals at all levels are moving away from the boom-and-bust mentality. In other words, sellers are now starting to sell traditionally versus having to sell because they are in a foreclosure situation or another financial bind. What this does is bring out the traditional buyers and they are buying.

Unfortunately during the housing bust, many individuals found themselves upside down on their mortgages because home values dropped. Any equity that had been built up in many homes was completely gone. Now that values are going back up, those homeowners that did not have to enter into foreclosure are finding that they are getting back equity or they are not as upside down on their mortgages as they thought. For those wishing to sell their homes, this makes selling much easier for them because it gives buyers more flexibility when it comes to buying.