Greater Minn. housing market competitive for buyers amid low supply, high demand

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) — The competition is steep if you’re looking to buy a home in greater Minnesota, as low inventory and historically low interest rates are leading to multiple bids on properties.

Locally in Mankato, it’s a low supply and high demand.

“Right now, I’m seeing that the market is just bananas. It is definitely a seller’s market. There is not a lot of homes on the market. And I think there’s not a lot of homes on the market because sellers are worried about ‘where am I going to go? Am I going to be able to find a home to go into?’,” said Candee Deichman, real estate agent at Century 21 Atwood.

Jason Lieske knows that first-hand, as his wife and four kids are on the hunt for a new home in the area.

“The lack of supply of homes creates a very aggressive demand for all the buyers approved, so when you are approved for those homes you have to act very quickly, sometimes within an hour or a day or you might miss out,” said Lieske.

That’s why Diechman advises buyers to be prepared to make a competitive offer.

“Buyers really should be searching a little bit below what their ideal price point is or they need to be prepared to go above [the] asking [price],” Diechman explained.

“So what’s happening is, if you’re looking for a $200,000 house, there is going to be multiple offers on that $200,000 house, so now you are going to end up paying $205,000, $210,000, [or] $220,000,” Deichman continued. “If you can only spend $200,000 you should look at spending $177,000 [to[ $188,000 or something in a lower price range.”

For sellers, Deichman recommends pricing intelligently.

“Sometimes we even go just a little bit below market [value] so we can get those multiple offers and get above the asking price,” explained Deichman

According to Minnesota Realtors, as of January 2021, in Blue Earth County the average median sales price was $213,000, which is an increase of 17.5% compared to the same time in 2020.

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