In August 2026, Apple Valley had 172 homes for sale. A year earlier it had 105, so inventory rose 63.8%. That was the largest jump of any city in the southern suburbs, and it was about eight times the 7.9% increase across the 16-county Twin Cities region. In that same month, Apple Valley sellers received 98.3% of their original list price on average, and the median sale price rose 2.9% to $377,000.
That combination looks odd. A big jump in supply should push prices down. In Apple Valley it hasn't yet, because the city started from an unusually tight position. The extra listings moved Apple Valley from scarce to roughly normal for the metro. They didn't make it a soft market. For a buyer, that means more weeks to decide and more homes to compare, while sale prices still close in on asking.
Apple Valley went from the tightest market to the middle of the pack
Months of supply measures how long current inventory would last at the current pace of sales. It is the clearest way to see where Apple Valley started. These figures come from the August 2026 Minneapolis Area REALTORS city reports. Each one compares August 2026 with August 2025.
| City | Inventory change, Aug. 2026 vs. Aug. 2025 | Months of supply, Aug. 2025 | Months of supply, Aug. 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Valley | +63.8% | 1.8 | 3.1 |
| Farmington | +26.8% | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| Lakeville | +24.7% | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Rosemount | +21.8% | 3.3 | 4.0 |
| Burnsville | +7.3% | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Eagan | +4.7% | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| 16-County Twin Cities Region | +7.9% | 2.8 | 3.0 |
In August 2025, Apple Valley had less than two months of supply, the lowest figure in the table by a wide margin. A year later, Eagan and Burnsville are both tighter, and Apple Valley sits close to the regional figure of 3.0 months.
Even at 3.1 months, the market is still short of what Minnesota Realtors calls well supplied. In its August 2026 report, the association said that "a healthy, well-supplied market usually has around 5 or 6 months of supply." By that standard, Apple Valley's surge filled about half the gap.
The leverage shows up in time more than in price
If buyers had gained real pricing power, the list-to-sale ratio would show it. It barely moved. Apple Valley sellers received 98.3% of original list price in August 2026, down from 98.6% a year earlier. Over a full year, the drop is even smaller: 98.9% to 98.8% on a rolling 12-month basis.
Neighboring cities saw much bigger changes, even though their inventory grew less:
- Farmington: 96.4% of original list price in August 2026, down from 98.4%
- Rosemount: 97.2%, down from 98.2%
- Lakeville: 97.3%, down from 99.7%
- Burnsville: 98.4%, down from 99.8%
- Eagan: 99.0%, up slightly from 98.9%
Farmington makes the clearest comparison, because its August 2026 median of $375,000 was almost the same as Apple Valley's $377,000. At the median, a 96.4% ratio leaves about $13,500 between original list price and sale price. In Apple Valley, 98.3% leaves about $6,400. At similar price points, Farmington buyers got roughly twice as much off the original list price.
The ratio has one limit. The MAAR reports say their price figures do not account for seller concessions. So a credit toward closing costs or a repair allowance negotiated after inspection won't appear in the 98.3%. In any single deal, part of the negotiation can happen below the line these reports measure.
What buyers clearly did gain is time. Homes in Apple Valley took 43 days to sell in August 2026, compared with 39 a year earlier. Over the rolling 12 months, the figure rose from 39 days to 44. Eagan homes sold in 32 days and Burnsville homes in 33 in August, so a buyer in Apple Valley usually has more time to think than in either of those cities.
More sellers are listing without finding a buyer right away
The inventory figure keeps growing because new listings are rising faster than sales. Over the 12 months through August 2026, Apple Valley had 948 new listings, up 16.9%, while closed sales fell 3.1% to 657. The 12-month numbers matter because MAAR warns that "activity for one month can sometimes look extreme due to small sample size," and August included only 71 Apple Valley closings. The yearlong trend points the same way as the single month.
Statewide, Minnesota Realtors described the same pattern: "More sellers are testing the market, but not all of them are finding a match right away." The association reported that August was the seventh straight month of rising new listings in the metro and statewide. Aarica Coleman, president of Minneapolis Area REALTORS, put it this way:
"Minneapolis area buyers are benefiting from more inventory and a slower pace, while existing owners still enjoy solid price growth."
The new supply also isn't coming from builders. Apple Valley's for-sale construction pipeline is small. The Applewood Pointe of Apple Valley Second Addition by United Properties Residential is a seven-lot phase of detached homes, and the Eagle Pointe Apple Valley 2nd Addition has 11 villas and 19 townhomes. The city lists both as under construction. Most new housing in the city is rental. Orchard Place Apartments, Trident Development's 135-unit market-rate project at 15665 English Avenue, was forecast in the city's June 2026 newsletter to be finished in November 2026. Valley Station, a 144-unit workforce rental project by Real Estate Equities, was approved in 2025. Local coverage in May 2026 projected it would be finished in July 2027. Both completion dates are forecasts.
That means nearly all of the 172 homes on the market are existing homes being resold. So a buyer is mostly comparing homes with an ownership history and an existing condition to inspect, rather than choosing among builder incentives.
The median rose while the average fell
One more detail in the August 2026 report explains how prices held. Apple Valley's median sale price rose 2.9%, but its average sale price fell 1.1%, to $395,273. The rolling 12-month figures split the same way, with the median up 0.9% and the average down 0.9%.
When the median rises and the average falls, the middle of the market is firming while the top of the price range has either softened or made up a smaller share of sales. That runs against the statewide picture. Minnesota Realtors said in August 2026 that continued strength at the upper end was one reason prices were rising across Minnesota. In Apple Valley, the support is coming from the middle of the market.
Cost per square foot fits the same reading. Apple Valley's median price per square foot was $189 in August 2026, up 3.3% from a year earlier. That is below Eagan at $198, Rosemount at $198, Farmington at $194, Lakeville at $208, and the regional figure of $218. Only Burnsville, at $185, was lower among the cities compared here. Apple Valley costs less per square foot than most of its neighbors, and its mid-priced homes still sell close to asking.
What higher rates add to a buyer's decision
Borrowing costs rose after August. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed rate at an average of 7.28% as of October 1, 2026, up from 7.03% the week before and from 6.34% a year earlier. The Star Tribune reported in September that some would-be buyers were holding off on moving in hopes that rates would come down.
In Apple Valley, higher rates combined with an inventory that has nearly doubled could lead to softer pricing later, but the August 2026 numbers don't show that yet. MAAR's September report should come out around the middle of October. Until then, these are the numbers that tell a buyer most about any one listing:
- Days on market for that home. The citywide figure was 43 days in August 2026. A home listed well past that has gone through more of the season without a buyer.
- Changes from the original list price. The 98.3% ratio is measured against the original price, so earlier price cuts are already counted in it.
- Where the home sits in the price range. The gap between the median and the average points to more room for negotiation above the middle of the market than within it.
- Concessions offered by the seller. These don't appear in the published ratios, so a closing-cost credit can change what the deal is really worth.
If you're comparing Apple Valley with Farmington, Lakeville or Rosemount this fall, the gaps in list-to-sale ratio and days on market from city to city are bigger than the gaps in median price. I'm happy to go through recent Apple Valley sales in your price range and see how they stack up against the August numbers. With Finstad Real Estate, you can schedule a free consultation and home valuation, and we'll look at what the extra time on the market means for your offer.
