Minneapolis Duplex Sellers Pretend It’s Spring

Winter has officially arrived in Minnesota when the ground freezes. It could be said, however, that the Twin Cities duplex, triplex and fourplex market declares winter’s arrival when the number of new listings every week drop.

It may be cold outside, but it in the duplex market, it’s apparently spring.

There were 21 new listings that came on the market the week ending November 23. And while banks were responsible for the majority of these opportunities, 47.6 percent are being sold by equity sellers.

During the same week in 2012, there were just 10 new listings for the week. Only 30 percent of these properties were put on the market by traditional sellers.

There were 9 small multifamily property owners who accepted offers during the week. A majority– 55.6 percent, are not distressed. Compare this to the 27.6 percent of last year’s 11 sellers who could say the same.

Of course, more sellers with equity usually leads to higher prices. This was certainly the case in 2013, when those 9 sales left the market at an average final list price of $190,854. Last year,  properties during the same week sold, on average, for $137,073.

The single family home market behaved like a seasonal thaw as well, with new listings up 46.6 percent over last year, pending sales up 42.8 percent, and the combination of the two drawing total inventory down 3.6 percent.

On average, sellers are currently accepting offers at 95.8 percent of their listing price. Perhaps this is because their properties are staying on the market a scant 75 days.

Again, there isn’t a lot of competition for duplex sellers right now. And that always means more money.