Minneapolis Rents Remain Unchanged

According to a recent report from Housinglink.org, May’s rents remained relatively unchanged year over year in both Minneapolis, while St Paul experienced some softening in the market.

The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis was unchanged at $1150. Two-bedroom units saw a median decline of $5 per month to $1495, while three-bedroom units saw a 1% decline, falling to $1890 from $1900 one year ago.

To qualify for each unit, residents must have a monthly income of $2875 for a one-bedroom, $3738 for a two-bedroom, and $4725 for a three-bedroom.

Meanwhile, St Paul saw median rents for one-bedroom units drop 9% year-over-year to $1050 from $1150. Two-bedroom units saw a 5% decline, falling to $1399 from $1465. Three-bedroom units rose slightly, however, to $1979 from $1956 one year ago.

St Paul residents needed to earn $2625 per month to qualify for a one-bedroom, $3498 for a two-bedroom and $4948 for a three-bedroom.

The city of Minneapolis saw a 5% vacancy rate for the month. Of these vacancies, 16% were found in condo’s, duplexes or townhouses. St Paul had a vacancy rate of around 4%. Just 12% of this total was found in condos, duplexes or townhouses.

In all, Minneapolis had 117,500 licensed housing units. This was a 5% year-over-year increase.  The total number of single-family homes and duplex rentals rose 1% to 23,267.

Some of this increase may be the result of a 6% decline in Airbnb units in the city.

While a month does not a trend make, flat or declining rents go a long way toward easing cost burdens on tenants, and makes an arguement for rent control harder to sustain.