Minneapolis Duplex Sales Double

duplexMinneapolis and St Paul duplex sales are seeing double.

That’s because twice as many duplexes sold the week ending May 5, 2012 than did the same week one year ago.

And yet, sadly, the number of new listings to the market when comparing the two weeks was roughly the same. There were 25 new investment opportunities last year during the week, while there were just 28 this year.

That’s just three more listings for twice as many buyers.

Of course, demand and supply usually drive price. Just not in this market.

The average price a duplex sold for the first week of May in 2011 was $150,605. This year, the average off market list price was $149,297; a number that will likely be 6-8 percent less when the final sales figures are reported.

Of the owners who accepted purchase agreements for the week, half were traditional sellers with equity in their duplexes. Last year, traditional sellers were responsible for just 36 percent of the sales.

Equity sellers also brough 67.8 percent of the year’s week’s new listings to the market; up from last year’s 48 percent market share.

The number of pending single family home sales was up a whopping 41.9 percent over the same week last year, while there were 6.6 percent less new listings. Combined, this lead to an overall inventory decrease of 28.3 percent.

Stay tuned.