Twin Cities August Rents: Flat in Minneapolis, Down in St. Paul

HousingLink just published their monthly Housing Brief and one statistic in particular caught my eye.

There were 3% more licensed rental units in the city of Minneapolis in the second quarter than there were the year before. With 117,718 units, that represents an increase of over 3,500 units.

Sure, that increase could be a fraction of the Twin Cities 4000-5000 new construction units scheduled to be available across the metro this year. However, as so much of the new construction is happening in the suburbs, that is unlikely.

It makes me wonder if homeowners with low mortgage interest rates have decided to rent their home out instead of selling it when they buy another. My theory may be slightly supported by the 23,267 licensed units in single-family homes and duplexes. This number is also up; 1% from last year.

These additional units may be why August rents stayed relatively flat. One-bedroom units averaged $1195 in Minneapolis in August; exactly the same as last year.  Two- bedroom units dropped $5 per month over the same stretch, to $1495, while three-bedroom units rose $5 to $2000.

In St Paul, median rents dropped. The median rent for a one-bedroom fell 7% to $1100. Two-bedroom units also saw a 7% decrease, falling to $1500. Three-bedroom units fared slightly better, dropping 3% to $1900.

There was a bit of good news for Minneapolis condo, duplex and townhouse owners however. Of all the vacancies in Minneapolis, those found in this building type dropped from 20% in August 2025 to 14% this August. St Paul, however, saw a 2% increase to 15%.

While none of this is earth-shattering in and of itself, the numbers bear watching. During the economic slowdown of the Great Recession, vacancy rates topped 7%, and rents flattened.  Vacancy rates during the second quarter of this year stood at 4.7%.