Twin Cities Duplex Market 2026: Why Right Now May Be the Best Time to Buy
Remember the saying, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now?”
I’ve been thinking about that saying. It suits duplexes too. Many people believe the best time to buy a duplex was during the Great Recession.
What I’m about to share may prove the second-best time is now. Because data on the Twin Cities small multi-family market in February suggest buyers may have an edge..
Last month the Twin Cities posted a 6-month supply of inventory. That means at our current sales pace, if no new properties came on the market from now until we were sold out, it would be 6 months.
That hasn’t happened in over a decade. That also means it’s the first time the 7-county metro area has been a buyer’s market.
And this at a time when mortgage rates have finally dipped below 6%.
February saw more duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes listed for sale than in any other February in over a decade. The 266 active listings also represented the most active listings in any month since July 2021.
This swelling of inventory was not the result of the month’s 109 new listings. That was up slightly from January’s 101 or last February’s 103. Rather, it seems the small, incremental growth of active inventory; up 14.7% year-over-year and plus 216.3% over February 2020.
Minneapolis was responsible for just over half of the month’s new listings, with 59. St Paul contributed another 26.
A down-to-the-studs 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom fourplex in Minneapolis’ Folwell neighborhood was the month’s heavy rehab opportunity, listing at $87,900. The market topper was a magazine-cover worthy Lowry Hill duplex with an amazing 14 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms, listed for $2.2 million.
In spite of the market shifting more toward buyers, February’s 48 sellers nonetheless managed to close on their properties at an average of 98.1% of their original list price. They did so at a median price of $390,000. This was up 7.4% year-over-year.
Properties spent an average of 100 days on the market before selling. Half spent more than 79 days listed for sale, while half sold in less time.
A 7 bedroom, 5 bathroom Victorian triplex in St Paul’s Summit Hill neighborhood topped the market at $985,000. A 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house conversion in St Paul’s North End neighborhood set a high bottom at $170,000.
For the first time in memory, Minneapolis and St Paul tied in new-to-the-market contributions, with 19 each.
If you’ve debated about buying a duplex, triplex or fourplex; whether to house hack or as an investment, give me a call. I’d be happy to have a no pressure consultation to see if it’s the right fit for you.