Despite rate hikes Duluth home market remain strong

Due to high inflation last year, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates sending home prices off the charts. But for we in the Northland looking to buy or sell our home, there is still some good news.

Minnesota realtors published their January report recently showing that closed home sales in the Arrowhead region is at -32.1%. I spoke to real estate expert Kevin Kalligher on what to expect here in the twin port area and he says there is no cause for alarm.

‘’ if you look at just the data, you go, oh, wow, this market is down. And people start to hesitate a little bit with the numbers out there. But, you know, this is just a rebound from such an incredible past couple of years that we’ve seen that I think people are just adjusting to it.’’

Across the lake in Douglas County — home sales are up by 8.7 percent. So, what is the Duluth housing market like?

 ‘’ locally. We’re still a very healthy and robust market, and it’s purely because we don’t have the amount of inventory being built at the rate some of these other major cities have. So if you’re selling right now, it’s still going to be advantageous and buyers, you’re seeing multiple offers still. If your house is in good condition, if it’s in a good location, it’s priced correctly. Houses are still selling within the first week here’’

He also stated that we have still have an housing storage

‘’ We definitely have a housing shortage in the area. So that one, I do know the number, we have about a one and a half month supply of homes available, meaning if all the homes stop coming up for sale today in one and a half months time, there would be nothing left for someone to buy here in the Twin Ports.’’

What is your advice for buyers and seller?

General word of wisdom for folks. Yeah. It’s just don’t make a hasty decision. Make sure that the timing is right for you, whether you’re buying or selling, so that you’ve got yourself set up for success in the next phase.