Minneapolis Duplex Sales Too Hot

Looking for a Minneapolis or St Paul duplex to buy is a little like being stuck in your house during this recent heat wave with a broken air conditioner.

No matter what you do or say, no matter who you plead with or offer abundant amounts of cash to, nobody’s coming to fix your AC until they decide they can.

And, no matter how much money you offer, or how earnest you are in your search, you can’t seem to make more duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes come on the market.

For example, during the week that ended June 23, 2012, there were 26 new multi-family properties available for sale in the metro area. This figure is a decline of 23.5 percent from the same week last year.

Of the new listings this year, just 30.8 percent belong to traditional sellers.  Last year, half of the new listings belonged to people with names not associated with banks.

Meanwhile, there was a 69 percent increase in the number of duplex owners who accepted purchase agreements compared to last year. Of these, half are traditional sellers who will take money home with them after the closing.  This is a 3 percent increase in the number of equity sellers over last year.

On average, pended duplex listings left the market at a list price of $172,480. This sounds like reason to rejoice, until compared to one year ago, when the average sold price for the week was $214,096.

The single family home market also continued to see declines in inventory, with new listings down 1.6 percent, and pending sales up 15.8 percent.

If the heatwave continues, without the relief of new inventory, it’s going to be a frustrating summer for many Minneapolis duplex buyers, but one with central air for duplex sellers.