Paying Attention to Twin Cities Housing Market Trends can Benefit Homebuyers

Paying attention to Twin Cities housing market trends can help home buyers fare better in a market that refuses to loosen. Here’s a summary of recent trends and how they might affect you.

NBC News reports that, although the housing markets in cities like Seattle and Denver may have cooled, in formerly affordable cities such as Minneapolis, prices are climbing. Even as home sellers lose their grip on the market nationwide, The Minneapolis Star Tribune says that the Twin Cities does not reflect the national trend. Not only are house-for-sale listings in short supply, historically high rents do little to ease demand.

Despite the reports in The Twin Cities Business Journal that the persistent seller’s market may be cooling, the metropolitan area’s housing market remains competitive. Redfin notes that area homes receive an average of two offers and sell in about 17 days. Since May 2018, the average sale price for a home has risen 13.3 percent. Trulia notes that the summer home buying season has brought steep increases. Since March 2019, the median sales price of a Twin Cities home has risen from $250,000 to $265,000. That increase reflects the jump in the average cost per square foot from $227 to $244.

The Twin Cities housing stock is especially tight when it comes to homes priced below $300,000. That shortage makes the market even more competitive for lower-income home buyers. “Demand for entry-level houses,” says The Star Tribune, “continues to outstrip supply, creating a listing logjam that’s choking home sales.”

Minneapolis non-profit The Family Housing Fund published a report this month that warns of a serious housing shortage throughout the Twin Cities’ seven county metropolitan area. The non-profit predicts that “the region is on a trajectory where rising housing prices and rents, increased traffic congestion, and widening economic inequality [will] erode [the Twin Cities’] competitive advantage” over areas such as Seattle and Denver.

Homes selling for more than $500,000 are not moving as quickly and that, notes Bring Me the News, advantages one group in particular. The sharp rise in demand for homes priced below $300,000, coupled with the flattening of sales for homes valued above $500,000, make this an opportune time for younger families to move from their starter to their “20-year” home.

Even if you’re not poised to move from your starter to your 20-year home, home owning remains a viable option, especially in the face of ever-more competitive rents. What the competition does mean is that now more than ever, home buyers benefit from 100% representation and all the other advantages of buying with an exclusive buyer agent.