In September 2026, Beltrami County sellers who closed got 91.9% of their original list price on average, down from 94.3% a year earlier. On a home first listed at $300,000, that works out to about $275,700. In the same month, months of supply fell from 6.0 to 4.4, according to the Minnesota Realtors county report. Inventory got tighter, and sellers still came down further from their first number.
If you're comparing Bemidji with other northern Minnesota towns, the new apartment buildings and senior co-ops in the headlines won't change that math anytime soon. Most of Bemidji's large announced projects have slipped, stalled, or dropped off the books. The new housing that is actually being built shows up a single lot or one six-plex at a time. For now, existing homes are the market, and the friction that matters most is the gap between a seller's first price and the price that closes.
The big projects, by their latest status
Here's where the larger projects stand, based on the latest city site report and local coverage. The city of Bemidji's Planning & Zoning department publishes a monthly status log of development projects. Its September 2026 edition is the most recent one.
| Project | What was proposed | Latest status |
|---|---|---|
| Tamarack Woods, Ridgeway Ave | Schuett Companies, 50 senior and 36 family units replacing Red Pine Estates | Site plan review complete; demolition of the existing structure set for spring 2027 |
| Gracewin Cooperative | 41-unit senior cooperative | Granted a 12-month extension; 13 of the 18 required pre-sales secured |
| HRDC / Beltrami County HRA north-side project | 39 mixed-income units | Conditional use permit revoked in June 2026 |
| Mountain View Meadows six-plex #2, Moonlight Lane SW | Six rental units | Exterior complete, interior work ongoing as of September 2026 |
Tamarack Woods is the clearest example of a timeline drifting. When the Bemidji Pioneer first reported the proposal in December 2025, the two four-story buildings were tentatively slated for completion in summer 2027 after a possible spring 2026 start. The city's September 2026 report now lists spring 2027 as the start of demolition on the existing structure. Demolition comes before construction, so anyone counting on those 86 units to ease rents or draw renters out of the starter-home market should plan around a later date than the one first reported.
Why the 39 units dropped off the books
In the spring of 2025, the north-side project looked like the city's most serious push toward workforce housing. The Bemidji Pioneer reported that the plan, led by the Headwaters Regional Development Commission on Beltrami County HRA land, sought a state housing-infrastructure grant of up to $500,000. The city discussed a matching contribution of up to $500,000, roughly $448,000 in tax increment financing, and a $100,000 pledge from the HRA. During those discussions, City Manager Rich Spiczka said that "the city is going to have to come help" if Bemidji wants housing, according to the Bemidji Pioneer.
Those financing figures were proposals made at the application stage. In June 2026, the Bemidji Planning Board revoked the project's conditional use permit because the development had not substantially started within the required 12 months. The Bemidji Pioneer reported that city staff sent multiple notices warning that the permit would expire, and that neither the HRDC nor the HRA sought an extension.
Gracewin follows a different rule, with the same effect on timing. The cooperative can't start construction until it reaches a set number of pre-sales. According to the September 2026 city report, it needs 18 and had secured 13. If the remaining pre-sales don't come in within a reasonable time, the developer will explore other options for the site. In June 2024, a Bemidji Pioneer article by Nicole Ronchetti, since reposted by Gracewin, reported the developer's case that a co-op would let older residents downsize without leaving town and free up homes further down the market ladder. That's the developer's case. Whether it plays out depends on five more signatures.
What's going up instead
Bemidji isn't standing still. The building is happening at a much smaller scale. The city's September 2026 residential log lists the projects:
- Moonlight Lane SW and Beartooth Ave SW: the second Mountain View Meadows six-plex, plus Puddle Duck Properties homes that are complete or have finished exteriors
- Northwoods Habitat for Humanity: a finished home on 26th St NW, with construction underway on 19th St NW, Lincoln Ave SE and Lake Ave SE
- Bemidji Ave N: a new Beberg duplex, its site plan approved June 9, 2026
- Single-family homes: builds underway or approved on 15th St NW, Lake Ave NE, Irvine Ave and Balsam Rd, plus a North Star Neighbors home submitted for review on Beartooth Ave SW
The newest public money fits the same pattern. On October 1, 2026, Minnesota Housing announced $425,000 for six new rental homes in Bemidji. KAXE identified the project as Mountain View Meadows. The Bemidji Pioneer reported that developer Mitch Rautio will build the homes, with the city serving as pass-through grantee. Minnesota Housing had already selected Mountain View Meadows for six units in its 2024 workforce-housing round. One developer is steadily adding small rental buildings in Bemidji's southwest corner, six units per phase.
Compare that pace with the Beltrami County comprehensive housing needs analysis, published in October 2025. It projected countywide demand for 4,179 general-occupancy units from 2025 through 2035, including 2,472 rentals and 1,707 for-sale homes. The same study's June 2025 survey found market-rate rentals just 2% vacant, at an average of $1,090 a month. Six-plexes and single homes are real additions. Against a projection that size, they leave existing houses doing most of the work.
The resale numbers behind your offer
Since new construction is arriving slowly, the September 2026 resale figures for Beltrami County are the ones that shape an offer:
| Measure, Beltrami County | September 2025 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Median sales price | $291,500 | $260,000 |
| Closed sales | 40 | 49 |
| New listings | 47 | 54 |
| Days on market until sale | 70 | 73 |
| Months supply of inventory | 6.0 | 4.4 |
| Percent of original list price received | 94.3% | 91.9% |
A few cautions before reading too much into that table. These are county-wide figures, not Bemidji-only. The report itself warns that one month's activity can look extreme because of small sample sizes. The year-to-date numbers through September tell a calmer story, with a median of $293,175, up 4.7%, and 95.8% of original list price received, unchanged from 2025. The September drop in the median likely says as much about which homes sold that month as about prices falling.
The shift in list-price discounts still matters. More homes closed, supply tightened, and yet September sellers came down further from their opening price than they did a year earlier. In this market, many homes are being listed above what buyers will pay and then corrected. Days on market sat at 73 in Beltrami County in September 2026, compared with 45 statewide, according to the Minnesota Realtors September 2026 statewide report. Statewide that month, months of supply was 3.7 and the median sale price was $354,900, according to Minnesota Realtors. A listing that has been sitting since summer at its original price is the one where a buyer's offer has the most room.
New construction carries its own premium. The county study counted 120 new-construction sales from 2022 through August 2025, with new detached homes closing at a median of $337,870, while active new detached listings were asking a median of $409,950. Those figures are from 2025, and the gap was between closed prices and asking prices. It still suggests a buyer holding out for a new build is weighing a higher price against a resale market that, in September 2026, closed at a $260,000 median.
FAQ
Is Tamarack Woods under construction?
No. As of the city's September 2026 site report, its site plan review was complete and demolition of the existing structure was scheduled for spring 2027.
Where is most new housing going up in Bemidji right now?
The busiest cluster on the city's September 2026 residential log is around Moonlight Lane SW and Beartooth Ave SW, where the Mountain View Meadows six-plex and several Puddle Duck Properties homes stand. Northwoods Habitat for Humanity has builds on 19th St NW, Lincoln Ave SE and Lake Ave SE, plus a finished home on 26th St NW.
Does a lower September median mean Bemidji prices are falling?
Not on its own. The September 2026 county median was down 10.8% from a year earlier, but the year-to-date median through September was up 4.7%, and the report cautions that single months can swing because of small sample sizes.
If you're weighing whether to wait for a new build or make an offer on a resale home that has been sitting since summer, Team Cermak can pull the list-price history on the specific Bemidji homes you're watching and show you where the gap between asking and closing has been widest. Selling instead? Start with a free home valuation so your first price lands close to where buyers have actually been paying.
