St. Cloud Housing Shortage Mirrors National Trend
ST. CLOUD -- Recent figures from the National Association of Realtors shows the supply of homes up for sale has fallen for 21 consecutive months. Those numbers mirror what's happening in Minnesota too.
Chris Galler is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Association of Realtors. He says the home inventory in St. Cloud, for example, was down 27% this February compared to February 2016. Galler says that's about half of where they want it to be right now.
One reason is Generation X home owners are staying in their homes longer to recapture the equity lost in the housing crash and that's leading to lower first-time homebuyer inventory.
Another factor of the housing shortage comes from Baby Boomers who aren't moving into smaller homes because of concerns over the future housing market and higher prices for their next home or townhouse.
Galler says more people are looking to buy homes with a rebound in the economy and job market. He says an increase in housing starts will help ease the pressure on the home inventory.