Published October 2, 2026 in Market Update

Some St. Croix Valley MN sellers have more room, and more competition

By Laurie Dick

Real estate, St. Croix Valley MN

Rates are above 7%, according to Redfin. That is the first time they have been there since January 2025, Realtor.com reported. Buyers feel it. So do sellers who are priced even a little too high.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 882 homes sold across the St. Croix Valley MN in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is a lot of activity. But the numbers inside that total are not all the same. One ZIP code looks very different from the rest.

The outlier: ZIP 55001

ZIP 55001, which covers Afton and the surrounding area, had 5.6 months of supply in the three months ending July 31, 2026, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Most of the other ZIPs in this market sat between 1.4 and 2.3 months. That gap matters.

In 55001, not one home sold above list price. The average sale came in at 96 cents on the dollar. Only about 1 in 5 homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That is a slower, more negotiable market than what sellers a few miles away are seeing.

With 11 homes for sale and only 6 sold in that period, buyers there have choices. Sellers have competition. That is a different conversation than the one happening in most of the rest of the St. Croix Valley MN.

The rest of the market is holding up

Compare 55001 with ZIP 55003, which covers Bayport. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 0.4 months of supply there in the same period. Nearly half of homes sold above list. More than 6 in 10 went under contract within two weeks. That is a tight market with real competition among buyers.

ZIP 55082, which covers much of Stillwater, sits in the middle. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 151 homes sold there, the median price was $525,000, and 45.7% of homes sold above list. Prices dipped 5.4% from a year before. That is worth watching, but supply stayed low at 2.1 months and more than half of homes went under contract within two weeks.

ZIP 55042, which covers Lake Elmo and parts east, saw a 15.5% jump in median sale price to $751,000, and homes sold rose 24.6%, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Supply dropped 1.1 months from a year before. That is a market moving in the seller's favor.

What this means if you are selling

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally took a price cut in September, the highest share since October 2022. That is the backdrop your buyers are shopping in.

If your home is in a ZIP with low supply and strong above-list activity, sharp pricing still gets results. If you are in 55001, you are in a different conversation. More inventory, no above-list sales, and a 96% sale-to-list ratio mean buyers have room to push back. Prep and pricing matter more there, not less.

Across the full St. Croix Valley MN, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,004 new listings in the three months ending July 31, 2026, against 882 sales. That is more homes coming to market than selling. Most ZIPs are absorbing that well. ZIP 55001 is not, at least not yet.

These are ZIP-code numbers. One street can read very differently from the whole ZIP. If you want to know where your home sits inside these numbers, just reach out.