Minneapolis Housing Market Trends This Week: Buyers Still Have Leverage

If you’re trying to decide whether to shop, list, make an offer, or wait another week, this is the key tension in the market right now: spring activity is picking up, but buyers still have leverage.

Demand has improved from winter, yet homes are taking longer to sell, inventory is well above last year, and sellers are facing more competition and more resistance on price. This is not a collapsing market, and it is not a hot seller’s market either. It is a more selective market, where the right homes can still move quickly but overpriced homes are more likely to sit.

• Active inventory is up 22.8% from the same week last year. Buyers have meaningfully more choice, and sellers are competing against more listings.
• Weeks of supply rose 32.9% to 12.19 from 9.17 a year ago. There are more homes available relative to the pace of sales, which is a strong sign that buyers still hold some leverage.
• Pending sales are down 9.3% from last year. Demand is still present, but fewer homes are going under contract, so the market is moving with less urgency.
• Homes are taking longer to sell. Median days on market is about 31 days on a 3-month basis, up 54% year over year, and the median age of inventory rose to 58.3 days from 53.1 days.
• Pricing power is softer. Homes are selling at about 99% of list price on the 3-month view versus 100% a year ago, and the share of listings with price cuts rose to about 5% from 4%.

• The weekly sale-to-list ratio was flat. That points to stability, not a sudden new wave of bidding pressure.
• Weeks of supply ticked up again from the prior week. Weekly changes can be noisy, but this fits the larger pattern of a market that remains relatively loose rather than tightening quickly.
• Pending sales have shown some recent slippage after the early spring lift. One week does not make a trend, but it supports the idea that demand is improving only modestly, not accelerating sharply.
• Inventory had a small weekly dip in the broader 3-month measure. Even so, the bigger story is that supply remains well above last year.
• Homes that go off market within two weeks remain below last year even after a spring rebound. Some listings are still moving fast, but not enough to bring the whole market back to last year’s pace.

First, you probably do not need to rush on every listing. With inventory up 22.8% and weeks of supply at 12.19, this is a market where most buyers have more room to compare homes, negotiate, and avoid panic decisions than they did last spring.

Second, treat asking prices as a starting point, not proof of seller power. New listing prices remain above last year and far above pre-pandemic norms, so many sellers are still testing the market at launch. But buyers are not accepting every price. Homes are selling at about 99% of list, price cuts are more common, and price per square foot is down about 2.2% from a year ago even after a recent spring bounce.

Third, be selective overall but ready on the right home. Broadly, buyers have leverage. But well-priced, well-prepared homes can still draw quick interest, especially with spring demand improving. The practical approach is to stay patient on stale or ambitious listings and move decisively when a home is priced realistically and checks your boxes.

1. Do not rush on every listing; use the extra choice to compare homes carefully.
2. Treat asking price as a starting point and look for negotiation room, especially on homes that appear overpriced or have been sitting.
3. Stay patient on stale or ambitious listings, but move decisively on well-priced homes that fit your needs.

First, this is not a market where sellers can count on the market to fix an aggressive price. Inventory is up, pending sales are down, and more listings are cutting prices than a year ago. Buyers have alternatives, so pricing too high at launch is more likely to cost time and lead to a reduction later.

Second, pay close attention to the first two weeks. Homes going off market within two weeks are down 17% from a year ago, which shows buyers are not rushing broadly. At the same time, some homes still do move quickly. That makes early response a useful signal. If a listing gets strong attention right away, the price is probably close to market. If it does not, waiting may only make the home look stale.

Third, think of pricing as a process, not a one-time decision. Many sellers are still coming out with ambitious list prices. Buyers are rewarding the homes that feel well priced and pushing back on the ones that do not. Some sellers are still finding buyers near asking, but broad over-asking results are not defining this market. The better strategy is to launch realistically, watch the first couple of weeks closely, and adjust quickly if the market is not responding.

1. Do not rely on the market to rescue an aggressive launch price.
2. Use the first two weeks as an important signal of whether the price is close to market.
3. Launch realistically and adjust quickly if buyer response is weak.

The big picture is still the same: spring has brought more activity, but not enough to erase buyer leverage. This remains a slower, better-supplied, more negotiable market than a year ago, with a clear split between homes that are priced right and homes that linger. The next signal to watch is whether pending sales can hold up in the coming weeks. If contracts do not keep pace with the number of listings on the market, buyers should keep their leverage—and sellers may face even more pressure to price sharply from the start.