Traditional Duplex Sellers Are Back

If there’s a trend in Minneapolis and St Paul duplex sales the week ending August 3, 2013, it’s that the traditional seller is definitively BACK.

Of the 26 duplexes, triplexes and four unit building owners who received and accepted purchase agreements during the week, a whopping 76.9 percent were people with equity in their properties. This was reflected in a higher average final list price of $179,919.

Last year, there were just 14 small multifamily property owners who received and accepted purchase agreements. Just 35.7 percent of those sellers left closing with money to put in the bank. And it wasn’t a lot, with an average sold price of $112,746.

During the last week of July, 2013, 28 new listings hit the market. Duplexes offered by equity sellers far outnumbered those listed by banks, with an 85.7 percent market share.

Of last year’s 19 new sellers, 68.4 percent didn’t have to consult with a lender in order to sell.

The single family home market continued to outpace last year’s market, with new sales up 15 percent, listings increasing 18 percent and overall inventory dropping 11.9 percent.

Tight inventory continues to force prices upward, with July’s Median Sales Price finishing at $208,000.

Let’s hope for more good news as we march toward fall.