Suburban Twin Cities Duplexes Are Having a Moment

The suburban Twin Cities duplex market reminds me of the family that has a child many years after their initial brood. The baby of the family gets to do things the older kids never did, and it almost doesn’t seem fair.

Suburban duplexes are like the babies of the family. They came into existence nearly 30 years after the Craftsman era duplex boom. As a result, they got to be on bigger lots, have separate basements and laundry facilities,  And, just like the youngest child, whether it’s owner occupants or investors, they are the darlings of everyone they meet.

So, while the 41 new duplex, triplex and suburban listings that came on the MLS was the most of any May since 2022, and the 64 active listings were the most for the month since 2016, the charm remained. Perhaps this is because there were also 30 sales last month; up from 19 in April and 17 one year ago.

Brooklyn Park, Columbia Heights, Fridley and South St Paul finished in a four-way tie for most new listings with three each. However, the value offering of the month came from Norwood/Young America where a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom house conversion triplex listed for $230,000. A townhouse-style Coon Rapids fourplex with 8 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms topped the month’s new listings at $750,000.

Meanwhile, the month’s 33 sellers earned closing prices that were 99.9% of their original listing price. These properties spent an average of just 34 days on the market and a median of 37. When counting any time those properties spent listed prior to the most recent occasion, the average became 58 days and the median 46.

Suburban sellers also achieved an average sales price of $478,537 and median of $474,000 last month. These healthy numbers were the result of what continues to be a seller’s market, with just a 2 month supply of inventory.

An up/down fixer-upper Farmington duplex with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms provided a buyer an opportunity to earn sweat equity at $205,000. A 12 bedroom, 8 bathroom townhouse style fourplex in Fridley meanwhile offered a turnkey investment, closing at $825,000.

If you are a Minneapolis or St Paul duplex, triplex or fourplex owner, suburban success should not be a cause for despair. Remember, 75% of the metro’s entire small multifamily inventory resides in the two cities. The values and activity in suburban markets is driven largely by scarcity. Suburban duplexes may have big back yards and even on occasion, an attached garage, but they’ve never had a buyer or prospective tenant walk in and fall in love with the woodwork.

And if you’ve been considering selling a duplex, triplex or fourplex in the suburbs, it’s your time to shine.