Minneapolis Duplex Buyers Can’t Find Minneapolis Duplex Sellers

Did you see the front page article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune yesterday about the shortage of Minneapolis and St Paul duplexes for sale?

Yes, I know. The article actually discussed how difficult it is right now for first time home buyers to find a house in decent enough condition to buy.

So how is that about duplexes?

Contrary to belief, not every duplex buyer is an investor.  In fact, I would say that nearly one half of the duplex buyers I work with are owner occupants; more specifically, first time home buyers.

Many want to get into a popular neighborhood, and can’t afford the cost of a single family home. The added income provided by a duplex offsets much of the burden of the mortgage payment.

Others have a longer term plan. Ideally, they want to live in the duplex until they start a family. At that point, they intend to purchase a single family property to move into, and use the duplex as a long term investment.

Of course, these duplex buyers, like their single family home counterparts, aren’t finding anything to buy — because tradtional sellers, whose property is usually in better condition than a bank foreclosure, don’t understand it’s a seller’s market.

Meaning it’s a great time to sell your Minneapolis duplex.

No, you’re not going to get what someone might have paid you for it in 2005 or 2006. And if you’ve owned it longer than that, and refinanced and took money out, you might not break even.

And if you’re thinking of waiting until we see those prices again, data suggests you may have to wait as much as a decade.

However, if you’re a Minneapolis or St Paul duplex owner who’s even just playing with the idea of selling, or in a perfect world would, please get in touch with me.

You may be better off than you think.