December’s Suburban Duplex Sales Look Like A Horse

If you’ve ever attended a personal training event, odds are at one time or another a presenter has used an ambiguous image to make a point. Look at the drawing one way and you see a horse. Look at it another and you see a frog.

That’s what the suburban duplex market reminds me of. When I look at it on an annual basis, I see a frog. When I review December’s numbers, I see a horse.

December saw 13 new duplex, triplex and fourplex listings in the seven-county area. This was down from November’s 22, but up from last December’s 8. The month’s 38 active listings was also a decline, this time down 22 from Novembers 60.  This was not too different from the 36 active listings in December 2024.

The month’s 13 new listings actually came from 13 different suburbs. The market topper was an updated 6 bedroom, 4 bathroom side by side in Excelsior that listed for $575,000. Another 6 bedroom, 4 bath side by side, this one in Forest Lake, offered a terrific cash flow and value-add opportunity, coming on the market or $335,000.

December also saw 21 sales. Both November 2025 and December 2024 tallied just 16. That translates to a year-over-year and month-over-month increase of 31.25% in sales.  It’s important to note, however, that sellers received an average of 96.9% o their original sales price. This suggests buyers are gaining a bit more leverage, as this is down from November’s 97.5% and last December’s 97.6%.

Further good news was found in the time those properties spent on the market before selling. December saw an average of 56 and median of 30 days on the market. These numbers represented year-over-year improvements, with last year averaging a whopping 92 days on the market, and a smaller improvement in the median by one day.

Market time improved even more dramatically when reviewing the cumulative days on market, which include the days a duplex may have previously been listed for sale, withdrawn from the MLS, and relisted.  Here time on market dropped 51.8%, to 64 days.

Suburban sellers obtained a median sales price o $450,000 in December. This was down from November’s $466,000, but up $30,000 over last year’s number.

A 7 bedroom, 3 bathroom up/down duplex in Young American complete with shag carpeting was the rehab opportunity of the month, closing at $221,900. A Hastings fourplex with 20 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms generated $1,050,000 or its sellers.

Hopkins topped the sales market in December with 5. Richfield and Hastings finished second with 2 each.

The spring market is just around the corner. Let’s hope it continues to bear good news.