Hardest Year Ever To Buy A Home

I have never seen an inventory shortage like we have right now in south Minneapolis and other high demand areas of the Twin Cities.  There is less then a month supply of homes available in Richfield, Bloomington, and Saint Louis Park.  In the Lake Nokomis area of south Minneapolis there is barely a month supply of inventory.  So I think this is going to be one of the hardest years for first-time home buyers to purchase a home.   2018 was a hard year to buy, but so far this year it already feels like there is going to be even less inventory available. Not only is inventory low and demand high, but prices are increasing fast. In February 2018, the average house in Lake Nokomis cost about $261,000, but today it costs $324,000.  That is a big increase in such a short period of time.

So if you are thinking of selling now might be a good time to get your home on the market.  Maybe prices go higher, but they could also go lower.  I remember when the market crashed in 2008 and prices dropped 35% over 4 years.  At the time many "experts" said real estate only goes up, but that turned out not to be the case. However, I don't think that type of situation is happening today.  2008 was a totally different market, inventory was 10 times higher then it is now and banks were giving out zero down payment loans to sub-prime borrowers. Today most of the buyers are putting down 10-20% or even 100% cash.  Most of the buyers have good credit too.  So It is a good time to be a seller.