Minnesota real estate officials say the housing market is cooling, but prices are warming up and that’s presenting challenges for buyers.
“There are still people who need to buy, who want to buy and find a way to make it work,” said Ryan Fischer, Re/Max real estate agent. Fischer said foot traffic was steady in the Twin Cities’ open days.
“We’re probably having five to 15 people at open houses right now, which is busier than during the pandemic and the past two years,” Fischer said.
According to Minnesota Realtors, home sales are slowing. Closed sales fell nearly 31% from a year ago. Median selling prices jumped almost 4%.
“People are watching the price is a bit high on this property and the interest rates are higher. Now they think twice about buying this property,” Fischer said.
Factors like inflation and rising interest rates make buying a home more difficult for some.
“What people could afford last year is not what they can afford this year or what they qualified for last year, payments have almost doubled,” said Linda Yang, agent loan at Go Mortgage.
Yang conducts workshops and points first-time home buyers in the right direction to find the resources needed to purchase a home.
“It’s just about educating, especially young people, what that process looks like so they can prepare for home ownership and understand how credit plays a role in that and how employment plays a role in that. a factor,” Yang said.
Experts say the good news is that the market situation is empowering buyers because there are more choices and easier to negotiate.
“They are able to put impressive conditions in their offers. They may ask certain sellers [to] pay closing costs. They can actually negotiate some inspection items,” Fischer said.
Homes in Minnesota (KSTP).