If you’re in the market to buy a home, you may have noticed there are not a lot of options out there. Chris Galler of the Minnesota Association of Realtors says that’s because we’re seeing another year of low inventory…
“In the Twin Cities it’s the worst but St. Cloud, Rochester, even in the north — I was with some people yesterday — Bemidji, Minnesota has a shortage of good listings. Down by the Marshall, Redwood Falls, Willmar area — shortage of the good listings.”
Galler says the shortage is causing some homebuyers to take short cuts including skipping the home inspection…
“If indeed you want to purchase a house unseen, have no idea whether there is unseen problems there — that’s a risk you take. And when you take that risk then you can sometimes be in a situation where you have consequences.”
He says when people take shortcuts in a process that’s fairly complicated, it’s not the best idea.
So what’s behind the low inventory…
“A big piece of it is because of the new construction market place which they are having a trouble building at that opening price point anymore. The cost to build now are just so high that filling in that void with new housing is getting very difficult — not just in the metro but in Greater Minnesota.”
Galler says another factor coming into play is homeowners are hesitant to put their property on the market with fear they won’t find another house to move into. He says it’s definitely a seller’s market right now with many homeowners receiving multiple offers above and beyond the list price.
Full interview with Chris Galler, Minnesota Association of Realtors: