Today's housing market is like Minnesota Golden Gophers sports. If football's your game, it doesn't look great and hasn't for a number of years. If you're a basketball fan, the results are positive even if you're missing key inventory. If you're into hockey, past glory appears to be on the horizon. It all depends on your angle and how you look at it. Sub-4.0 percent mortgage rates and a 40-percent discount off 2006 prices may make buyers happy, but bank-mediated properties pose challenges to traditional sellers akin to playing a Big 10 schedule without Trevor Mbakwe. Moral of the story? Your level of enthusiasm is dictated by which set of bleachers you're sitting on.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending December 10:

• New Listings decreased 11.3% to 911

• Pending Sales increased 31.7% to 761

• Inventory decreased 23.2% to 19,380

For the month of November:

• Median Sales Price decreased 10.2% to $149,000

• Days on Market decreased 1.9% to 135

• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 1.0% to 90.9%

• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 30.2% to 5.7

As another new year approaches, we find ourselves settling in for the holidays, which typically come with slowed real estate activity. In the first week of the full holiday shopping season, we saw sales increase. We're talking about residential real estate, of course, although retail performed surprisingly well, too. Sellers listed fewer properties during the week, choosing instead to hunker down in their living rooms rich with the aromas of pine-scented candles and cinnamon cider sticks.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending December 3:

• New Listings decreased 9.3% to 1,006

• Pending Sales increased 36.4% to 885

• Inventory decreased 22.9% to 20,031

For the month of November:

• Median Sales Price decreased 9.9% to $149,500

• Days on Market decreased 1.8% to 135

• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 1.0% to 90.9%

• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 30.5% to 5.7

Tryptophan and chatty in-laws were not able to curb the appetite of local home buyers, as purchase activity easily gobbled up last year's levels. Sellers were apparently stuffed and lethargic, as they brought fewer new properties onto the market than during the same holiday week last year. As we approach the slowest time of year for residential activity, expect transacted dollar volumes and sales counts to weaken from the spring and summer of this year. Keep watching inventory declines; they could have a measurable impact on the Spring 2012 market.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending November 26:

• New Listings decreased 9.1% to 601

• Pending Sales increased 46.8% to 574

• Inventory decreased 22.8% to 20,318

For the month of October:

• Median Sales Price decreased 9.6% to $154,500

• Days on Market decreased 0.5% to 134

• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.9% to 91.2%

• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 27.6% to 6.3