Last month I wrote about absorption rates for the seven county metro area. For Ramsey county and St. Paul the absorption rate is less than five months. That means at the current rate of sales if no more homes were listed the current homes on the market would be absorbed or purchased by buyers in less than five months. Absorption rates were much higher last year and the year before when the inventory of homes on the market rose and home sales dropped.
Currently in downtown St. Paul the absorption rate is slightly over nine months almost double the absorption rate for the rest of the county. Average cumulative days on market for the 136 condos on the market is around 206 days and the average list price is $288,344. Since the beginning of the year 27 units have sold for an average price of $211,000 and were on the market for an average of 230 days.
Much of the housing in downtown St. Paul was built in the last five years. it is very common for sellers to owe more on the units than they can be sold for. There are still new units available in several buildings and some of the new buildings that were being planned are not being built.
There are some bargains downton and there are also some units that seem to be a bit over priced. Amazingly there are not all that many foreclosures and because the housing is all in buildings there are no registered vacant properties either.
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I am moving downtown in May and am currently looking for an apartment that will not only accept dogs, but that has an area within the building premises that I can take my dogs outside at night and still feel safe.
Your view is really informative….
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Unique-I hope you’ll reconsider the requirement to have an on premises dog walking spot. Many dog owners live in our Lowertown building and I have long believed they are the best informal neighborhood watch/crime prevention group. We moved from a neighborhood in Tampa that some thought “marginal” as far as safety was concerned, but at the time we had an aging dog with an unreliable bladder. Taking her out at all hours of the night made our block a less desirable location for mischief of all kinds. Helped keep the raccoons out of the garbage cans too (a hazard even in highly urbanized areas like our former neighorhood in Florida). I can understand your concern, and remain vigilant myself, but after living in DC and Tampa I think downtown St. Paul is far overblown as a hotbed of criminal activity.