Does Your Duplex Fantasy Match Reality?

I may be stating the obvious, but if you’re looking to buy a duplex in Minneapolis, it’s important you have realistic expectations.

And often, those expectations should be set in accordance with type of duplex inventory available in the areas you’re considering investing in.

For example, Twin Cities Craftsman-era duplexes, which are typically a short bus ride from the city’s core, were usually built between 1912 and 1929. They were built because with the mechanization of the industrial revolution, fewer people were needed to work on farms, and more were needed to work in manufacturing and services– which were found in the city.

So farm kids moved into town to get a job. And, in 1923 they didn’t have as many wardrobe choices as we do today. So give up any notions you might have about finding walk-in closets.

Of course, people changed with time, as did fashion and architecture.  If you need a place with more than one bathroom and bigger bedrooms, for example, duplexes form the post World War II housing boom of the 1940s and1950s is the era they started to appear.

The trouble for most buyers is, most of the land closest to the city’s core already had buildings on it at that time. So, you’ll find these bigger duplexes with more contemporary amenities a little further out from downtown.

Sure, there’s the exception to every rule, but by en large, this is the case.

Know too that with fuel prices being what they are, you aren’t alone in wanting to live close to work to save on both gas and hours in the car.

As a result, there are a lot of people who want to buy that inexpensive duplex two blocks from one of the lakes. Increased demand always equals higher prices or, in this market, all cash transactions.

There are plenty of great duplex buys in Minneapolis; provided your fantasy of what that looks like matches reality.

Stay open to your options.