Minnesota Housing Market Facts & What Needs to Change

by Glenn S. Dorfman
Minnesota Association of REALTORS®

Where we have been

Prior to mid-2005:

• Lowest interest rates in 45 years creating extraordinarily high housing demand.
• Explosion of hybrid mortgage instruments (no doc, no down, etc.,) allow many renters to buy who may not have bought until years later
• Strong, positive demographics–baby boom in prime earning years
  • Strong immigration/migration driven by strong national and Minnesota economy.
• Explosion in second home purchasing fueled by primary residence home equity borrowing and Capital Gains exclusion for sale of principal residence (TRA 1997).
• Strong and growing state economy, low unemployment (uneven nationally-housing very positive economic influence -Greenspan 2001, 2003)

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Minnesota's REALTORS®-HELPING-REALTORS®

SE MN Disaster Relief Fund

Imagine, if you can, what your life would be like tomorrow if your home, your car and all of your personal possessions were swept away in a flood. Add to that trauma, the fact that you have no insurance coverage because your home was located in an area where flooding was not an issue. This is the nightmare some REALTORS® face in Southeast Minnesota.

Besides the personal devastation of such a loss, they have mortgage payments on homes that don't exist or need to be torn down. Their business (selling real estate) is going to be disrupted while they try to figure out where to live, how to replace family heirlooms, how to pay for items, get kids in school, and a range of problems we can't even imagine. How do you explain to children what has just happened?

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