Do Extraordinary Events Impact The Minneapolis Duplex Market?

Whether driven by weather, economic uncertainty, or ICE activities throughout the city, the Minneapolis duplex market showed dramatic signs of a slowdown in January.

The most telling number came in the absorption rate, typically calculated by dividing current inventory by the number of properties sold. For example, January saw a total of 131 active listings in the city, and 17 sold duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. So divide 131/17 = 7.7. Round it up, and we have an 8-month supply of inventory. That’s the highest number in over a decade.

Is it temporary or long-term? December saw a 4-month supply, the same as January 2025.  Both January of 2020 and 2016 saw a 3-month supply. I’m neither a sociologist or economist, yet it seems doubling of inventory in a single month seems more likely the result of a sudden, extraordinary event than a trend.

Similarly, the month’s 51 new listings represented a 34.2% increase from December, and an 8.5% year-over-year increase. Again, was this sudden spike driven by unusual external factors or emblematic of a larger trend?

The Whittier neighborhood made the biggest contribution to new inventory with 5. Powderhorn Park was second with 3. The month’s rehab opportunity came in the form a fire-damaged fourplex in the Folwell neighborhood. The boarded-up 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom listed for $94,400. An updated $925,000 Ecco neighborhood duplex with 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms topped new listings.

A beautiful, restored Victorian triplex with 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms in the Phillips West neighborhood was the month’s high seller at $865,000. A Powderhorn Park 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house conversion in need of substantail cosmetic updates closed at $237,750. Overall, the month saw a median sales price o $445,000; the highest since November 2024. Remember, sales typically take anywhere from 45 to 60 days from contract to close, so the month’s closings are not necessarily reflective of January’s external factors.

While the average number of days a sold property spent on the market was up 28.5% from December, this was also a decline of 3.7% from last year.  The same trend was true of cumulative days, up 14.5% from December, yet down 6% from January one-year ago.

On average, sellers obtained a final sales price that was 97.9% of their original asking price. This was a drop from December’s 98.2%. However, it also represented a .5% increase over January 2025.

If these uncharacteristic numbers are, in fact, a result of temporary external factors, we may see a rebound once those pressures are removed.