North Minneapolis Housing Report

Everybody likes to make fun of North Minneapolis. People say it is ghetto, they don’t want to live there, it is a dump, but guess what, when sales almost most everywhere in Minnesota are down, sales in North Minneapolis from 2007 to 2008 are up over 84%. According to Northstar Regional MLS statistics the number of closed sale rose from 199 to 367. Prices are down 44%, but houses are selling. Houses in North Minneapolis are also on the market for less time. Days on market in North are down 17%. Some of my best clients for my floor sanding company are buying a lot of houses in North right now. I have three that have been buying more then one house each month for a while now. I think this is good because most are fixing these houses up and selling them or renting them out. Hopefully it will build up the neighborhood. This is an example of letting prices adjust. Prices are decreasing and people are buying. They can make money, they can add value, add equity, create cash flow, gain tax deductions. These are the fundamental principles of creating wealth and building freedom and prosperity. The banks are selling them at low prices to get them off their books and clean house. This is what needs to happen and in North it is working. If the government steps in and starts artificially rising prices to keep the bottom from falling out it is only going to cost more and prolong the problem. Wealth can only be created by adding value and creating a desire for something people want. Investors and business people do this. North Minneapolis has a lot of homes for sale that can help create wealth. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next couple of years.