Twin Cities housing inventory expected to be tight this year, says report

(FOX 9) - If you’re in the market for a new home in the Twin Cities area, inventory this year is expected to be tight.

The Real Estate Department at the University of St. Thomas released a new report Thursday detailing some trends to look out for in 2019.

The report provided some insight on the Twin Cities housing market. According to the University’s analysis, low levels of for-sale inventory has become the new normal.

When it comes to home prices, it isn’t getting any cheaper to buy property in the Twin Cities.

To put it into perspective, in 2011, the median sale price was $145,000. In just eight years, that number has nearly doubled to $274,000.

That’s an increase of more than 6 percent in the last five years. One factor driving up the prices is the shortage of homes on the market.

“There’s just a lot of buyers that are chasing a lesser number of homes for sale that’s part of it,” said Herb Tousley, director of real estate programs at the University of St. Thomas. “Interest rates are still relatively low so mortgage payments are more affordable and those things all together, we have more people moving into the area and there’s just not enough single family homes to meet the demands.”

Home sales for this year are expected to fall in line with last year’s level of around 59,000 homes.

While single-family home construction is expected to increase a bit, the university’s report suggests that there are still not enough moderately-priced single-family homes to meet demand.

When it comes to new apartments, however, it’s just the opposite.

There will be more than 7,000 new apartments added to the Twin Cities market this year.

With the population expected to increase over the next four years, the university’s report recommends building more houses to keep up with demand.