When Is It A Landlord’s Market?

We’ve all heard that it’s a duplex sellers market when there’s less than a five month supply of inventory for sale, right?

So when is it a landlord’s market?

Five must be a magic number.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), it’s a landlord’s market when vacancy rates dip below 5 percent. And it’s at that point that duplex owners can justify charging more in rent.

To put this in perspective, Minneapolis currently has a vacancy rate of 2.3 percent. Nationally, only Portland (2.1 percent) and New York City (2.2 percent) have lower vacancy rates.

With job creation forecast to be modest into 2013, many would-be home buyers are likely to continue to be tenants. This continued competition for places to live should help Minneapolis duplex owners increase rents in the coming year, which of course, will help cash flow.

At the risk of being redundant, I’m going to say it again. It’s a great time to invest in Minneapolis duplexes!