Where Facts And Fiction Meet: The Minneapolis Duplex Market

I recently received two offers on a Minneapolis duplex I had listed for sale within 5 hours of it being active on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

One was for twenty percent below the seller’s asking price. The other was three percent.

I realized some of the public may be writing fiction in their heads about what higher interest rates mean. The factions say something else. Especially after this very same property generated multiple offers by the end of its first day and sold for more than the seller was asking.

So what’s the truth about the Minneapolis and St. Paul duplex market?

The answer may surprise you.

In August, the average sales price in the seven-county metro area of $413,434 was topped only by April’s $437,352 this year. Going back even further, it was the third-highest sales price of any month this year. Had it been $2,000 higher, it would have ranked second.

The high seller for the month was a southeast Minneapolis fourplex near the University of Minnesota. The 16 bedroom, 8 bathroom (so 4BRs/2BAs per unit) tallied a final sales price of $1.35 million. The deal of the month was a north Minneapolis fixer-upper that sold at auction for $94,000.

There were 137 new listings in August; down from July’s 145, and ranking below even August of 2022’s 138. Get this. In April of 2022 there were 208 new listings for the month compared with just 105 in the same month this year. In May of 2022 there were 192. This year? Just 130.  June of 2022? 196. June of 2023? 166.

See a trend? Just like the national media’s been reporting, there is an overall lack of inventory. As a result, we have dropped to a two-month supply of active inventory; a number indicating it is still very much a seller’s market.

Of course, that doesn’t mean everything is selling. The number of expired listings for August was 124. This is 69 fewer than expired in August of last year. Properties first have to be actively listed for sale on the MLS in order to expire, so it would make some sense that fewer listings in a month or a year result in fewer expired listings.

Duplexes are still selling. And if you’re thinking about moving on from your own, right now there isn’t a whole lot of competition. Call me if you’d like to find out what your duplex is worth and what your options may be.