Minneapolis Minnesota | Real Estate Market Update | Downtown Condo's Heat Up

I've been singing the praises of our Twin Cities Real Estate Market for the past month now. Sign of improvement are all around. Many areas are still depressed, and others are shining, but the trends are finally headed in the right direct.

The Downtown condo market is really showing signs of improvement, and while it's too early still to say for sure, it could be just the news everyone's been hoping for.

I love downtown Minneapolis! Nothing against St. Paul, I've lived in Summit Hill, and still own a condo in Crocus Hill - St. Paul is great - but the single riskiest, and potentially beneficial, development in our real estate market over the past 7 years has been the condo boom in downtown Minneapolis. People are flocking to Minneapolis (for reasons I can't fully understand, given our winters and our taxes, but that's another story). With energy costs on the rise, and a vibrant residential community, it's no wonder downtown has increased in popularity. The population downtown is sky rocketing, and the number of new condo developments is staggering. Enter the "Credit Crunch", "Buyer's Market" and "Possible Recession" - the big question now: How will the downtown condo market handle this new economy?

Apparently quite well! Spring has come late in Minneapolis (has it even hit 80 degrees yet?) but with a few solid months of action under our belts, it clear that downtown market is strong. The number of new listings this year is down 16.9% from this point last year. So the supply of new properties to the market has slowed down. Sales volume, however, is up a whopping 59.3% year-to-date (and I don't say "whopping" often). The resulting supply and demand ratio is vastly improved. There are 20% fewer condos/townhomes for sale today than at this time last year. There are many factors to consider when analyzing these numbers, but suffice it to say, the market dynamics are better now than at any time in past year.

The average sale price in April '08 ($341,500) was 14.3% higher, than in April '07 ($298,762). Sellers are also receiving an impressive 97.4% of their list price, while the Twin Cities average is just 91.2%.

Have a home downtown you'd like to sell? You might consider giving a shot this summer. I hope and believe the market will continue to improve, but no one knows if it will be better or worse next year. If you're thinking about selling a home downtown, I say; talk to a Realtor, and give it a shot!