Minneapolis Duplex Market Hints At Thaw

Believe it or not, in some sectors of the Twin Cities housing market have begun to thaw. In fact, it feels like spring: of 2006.

Realtors and our clients are once again experiencing multiple offers and having to rush to see newly listed properties before they’re gone.

Unfortunately, the bulk of this activity is in first time home buyer territory; namely, those properties below $225,000.

But there are hints in MAR’s Weekly Market Activity Report that perhaps things are loosening up. For the week ending February 20, pending sales were actually 9.9 percent higher than they were for last year. This is the first year-over-year increase we’ve seen in weeks.

With just 5.39 homes available for each active buyer in the market, a 17.7 percent increase in the number of new listings for the week may help those facing multiple offers find homes. There are 6.9 percent fewer homes available for purchase this year than there were at this point in 2009.

In the small multifamily sector, traditional sellers continued to gain ground on the banks. Twenty-five percent of the owners of properties that received purchase agreements were people, not corporations. Of those listings new to the marketplace, 48.14 percent were being sold by people with actual names.

While the number of pended duplex sales was down 38.5 percent, the good news is the average price they left active status at was $121,509. This represents a significant leap over last year’s sold price of $94,671.23.

As we head toward the $8000 first time home buyer and $6500 repeat buyer tax credit April 30 deadline,  we’re sure to see even more signs of spring.