Minneapolis Duplex Market Cause Oxygen Deprivation

Ever have a panic attack?

You know– the one’s where you can’t breathe or think?

I had one when I compiled the market statistics for Minneapolis and St Paul duplex sales for the week ending June 26, 2010.

A paltry 12 duplexes received purchase agreements. Twelve. Out of  723 active small multi-family listings in the Twin Cities metro area.

That’s down 37.5 percent from one year ago.

How did I get the color back in my face?

By finding the good news.

Traditional sellers accounted for 33 percent of the week’s duplex sales. Last year, they were just 9 percent of the market.

The average price the dozen left the active duplex market at was $180,808. Last year, the sold average for the week was $113,138.

And, while there were 42 new listings this year, that’s down from last year’s 57.  Fifty percent of the new listings will not require a bank to be involved in any negotiations of a purchase agreement. Last year, just 22.8 percent were that hassle-free.

The single family housing market had 47.6 percent fewer pending sales for the week, with 6.5 percent fewer new listings than the year before.

With decreasing demand and growing inventory, it’s no surprise that the 27,526 homes presently on the market is 3.2 percent more than last year. There are now 7.44 homes available for every buyer actively in the market.

I think I need to go meditate.