ST. CLOUD -- Anyone shopping around for a new home in the St. Cloud area knows it's been tough to find what you're looking for.

Minnesota Realtors CEO Chris Galler says despite the COVID-19 pandemic the housing market remains strong in central Minnesota and statewide.

We're doing better than most.  The main reason for that is Minnesota's economy, even though we took a heck of a hit with a lot of people getting laid off, a lot of the jobs of the people looking for homes we're as impacted negatively.

He says right now the biggest issue remains a lack of inventory.

In your marketplace, we need homes between $175,000 and $350,000.  Homes in that marketplace allows the entire cycle to move through and we're just not able to have enough of those properties available, that are in good condition, that people can move into this summer.

Galler says one issue is fees and regulations are adding to the cost for new construction, which is preventing people from building a new home and putting their current house up for sale.

He says with very low interest rates buyers are motivated right now and sellers are getting about 98 percent of their asking price.

Galler says the industry isn't out of the woods just yet and we could possibly see a housing slump this fall if there's a second wave of COVID-19.

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