Is This a “Safe” Minneapolis Neighborhood?

Buyers always have a strong interest in many characteristics of prospective neighborhoods. This interest is particularly acute when the buyers are from out-of-town. They want to know about noise, traffic, schools, local market trends, and crime. All of these are vital concerns, and my job as your Minneapolis REALTOR is to help you obtain all of the information you need to make a decision about where to purchase a home.

Sometimes, buyers pose the question “Is this a safe neighborhood?” or a more open-ended question like “What is the neighborhood like?” Most of the time, the buyer is expressing a legitimate concern about crime rate. On occasion, a REALTOR might detect that these questions are thinly disguised code used to probe for information about the racial or ethnic makeup of a community. The buyer may be inviting to the agent to “steer” the home search away from particular types of neighborhoods, or to see if he/she is willing to engage in “red-lining.”

This puts the REALTOR in an awkward position; questions about crime rate are valid, and the REALTOR wants to provide helpful information. The REALTOR certainly doesn’t want to “red-line” the city. What is a REALTOR to do?

First of all, I would like to say that I am willing to help people buy and sell homes in any Twin Cities neighborhood, and am comfortable with all of them. I grew up in the Twin Cities, and know all of the neighborhoods fairly well. Crime rates in the Twin Cities are substantially lower than crime rates of other major cities.

The best thing I can do to help you with concerns about crime is to provide resources that collect crime data. These resources will provide all of the information you need to answer questions about crime.

Crime Data Resources

The best and most obvious source of information on local crime is the local police department. Most municpalities compile crime data and make it readily available. If you want information about Minneapolis Crime, check out the local Minneapolis Police Department website.

Go to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s website at the Minnesota Department of Safety for annual crime reports by county and agency.

For information on predatory offenders residing in a particular zip code, go to the website provided by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Possibly related posts:

1. Why Can’t I Search the Minneapolis MLS?
2. Market Analysis vs. Appraisal