There was a time, about a decade ago when there were far fewer condos in downtown St. Paul. Starting in about 2002 new developments started springing up. Some were new construction and some were warehouse and apartment building renovations. By about 2006 it seemed like there was enough housing downtown and we started to see some of the new projects being put on hold. There are still new units available downtown that have not been sold from projects that were complete by 2005.
Here is a look at the number of condos that were sold in downtown St. Paul over the last ten years. The data was taken from the MLS which is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Sales peeked in 2004, and have gone down every year since. Using the same data I took a look at prices downtown over the last ten years.
Prices did not peak until 2006, as they did in the rest of the rest of the city. However prices have not gone down as much as they have in the rest of the city during the last three years.
This year the foreclosure rate downtown is going up. About 10% of the condos on the market are in some stage of foreclosure, which is about the same or slightly higher than the rest of the city.
The numbers don't make sense though. There has been a sharp decline in condo sales. Some sellers are renting their condos, and there are others who want to sell but they can not because they purchased the units in 2005 or later and don't have enough equity to sell.
The housing stock in downtown St. Paul is in good shape. There is very little if any "run down" property and that will make a difference when it comes to holding value. But it looks like the prices downtown have not yet bottomed out. It is a kind of mystery market and very different from the rest of the city so I don't know how low it will go but will be keeping a very close eye on the foreclosure rates.
Currently in St. Paul the average cumulative days on market for all homes on the market listed through the MLS is 177.2 days and the average list price is $201,804. For downtown St. Paul condos the average cumulative days on market for all units that are listed is 240.71 days and the average list price is $256,337. It takes twice as long to sell a downtown condo as it does to sell a home in the city. I don't think downtown conod prices have hit bottom yet and will come down a bit more.
Nice summary of the Downtown St. Paul condo market and I appreciate the data. It is a useful comparison when clients seek perspective on whether a Downtown Minneapolis condo vs. a Downtown St. Paul condo might be a better fit for them.