Best Time of Year to Apartment Hunt in Minneapolis (rental market, school)

[Steve Bowen]

If one were planning on moving to central-ish Minneapolis (Whittier, Seward, NE Minneapolis, for example) and renting a 2-3 BR apartment or small house, are there any seasonal considerations to bear in mind? Right out of the gate, I suspect that there are fewer listings in the dead of winter.

I also know that U of M has a massive student body and I'd presume that apartment hunting in late summer would be difficult for that reason, I'd guess that most U of M students live around the University and don't distort the rental market citywide, but I don't really know.

So, is there a particularly good (or bad) time of year to be hunting for rental housing in central Minneapolis?

[StPaulGal]

You are right on the money that searching for housing in the dead of winter is going to leave you with fewer choices than you would see during other seasons. But on the flip side, you may well find that terms are much more negotiable during the winter months where landlords are desperate to stop the monthly loss of money that comes from having a vacancy during a hard-to-fill season. Spring and fall are probably most popular, based on college schedules for the younger demographic and kids' school schedules for the parental set.

Overall, I wouldn't worry too much about your timing (except perhaps to avoid moving in winter, since unloading a moving truck in a snowstorm is no fun at all.) Just start looking for housing a couple of months before you want to move and you should be able to find something decent.

[uptown_urbanist]

Many leases around here require 60 days notice before moving out, so about 6-8 weeks before your target move-in date you'll start to see lots of listings. And some leases have bans on leaving in the middle of winter. (And really, who wants to be moving in and out in sub-zero temps or a snowstorm if they can avoid it?)

You'll find the most inventory in the late spring through the summer, but also the most competition.

That said, I've never heard of anyone here running into problems finding a place to live, assuming you're not working with an especially low budget or have very specific needs or wish list items. The vacancy rate is low, but there aren't the bidding wars they have in some hot markets. In other words, no need to time your move based on housing - although if you have the time and budget to organize it, I'd fly out and line up a place in advance.