Sell Your Commercial Property In North Dakota

The North Dakota rental market at a glance

North Dakota had 122,979 renter households in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey, or 37.1% of 331,063 occupied homes. Owners hold the other 62.9%. Larger buildings make up a real share of North Dakota's stock: 94,569 housing units, 25.1% of the state's 377,281 total, sit in buildings of five or more units, per ACS table B25024.

North Dakota rental vacancy stood at 8.3% in the 2020-2024 DP04 housing profile. Statewide median household income was $76,657, so the $954 median gross rent equals about 14.9% of a typical household's gross income. Renter households feel more strain than that average suggests: 38.9% of North Dakota renter households paid 30% or more of income on rent, per ACS table B25070.

Five-year trends in North Dakota

North Dakota median gross rent rose 15.5% between the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 ACS periods, from $826 to $954 a month. Median household income grew 18.1% over the same span, from $64,894 to $76,657, so income outpaced rent by 2.6 percentage points statewide.

North Dakota added 3,139 renter households between the two periods, a 2.6% gain. Units in five-plus buildings rose 4.3%, adding 3,934 units statewide. Population grew 3.7% over the same five years, per Census table B01003.

Cass County outran North Dakota on most measures. Its population rose 9.3% and its renter households grew 11.1% between the two ACS periods, well above the statewide 3.7% and 2.6% gains.

North Dakota county comparison

Cass County, home to Fargo and West Fargo, is the North Dakota county profiled here in depth. Its $958 median gross rent and 48.0% renter share both run above the statewide figures of $954 and 37.1%, per the 2020-2024 ACS.

Cass County's 5.3% rental vacancy sits well below North Dakota's statewide 8.3% rate, a sign of tighter demand around Fargo's apartment stock.

North Dakota landlord, tax and transfer rules

North Dakota bars local rent control. Under NDCC 47-16-02.1, no North Dakota city or county may enact, maintain or enforce an ordinance controlling rent on private residential or commercial property.

North Dakota caps most security deposits at one month's rent under NDCC 47-16-07.1, rising to two months for a tenant with a felony conviction or a prior rental-related judgment; a pet deposit can run to the greater of $2,500 or two months' rent. Landlords must itemize deductions and refund the balance within 30 days after the lease ends and the tenant returns possession.

North Dakota requires at least one calendar month's written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy under NDCC 47-16-15, and a three-day written notice to pay rent or vacate before an eviction can proceed under NDCC 47-32-02.

North Dakota taxes apartment buildings of four or more units as commercial property under NDCC 57-02-01, assessed at 10% of true and full value versus 9% for most residential property, with assessed value then set at 50% of that figure under Section 57-02-27. Cass County bills are payable in two halves, March 1 and October 15, with a 5% discount for payment in full by February 15.

North Dakota imposes no separate real estate transfer tax; NDCC 11-18-02 instead requires a county auditor's certificate that current and delinquent taxes are paid before a deed can be recorded.

What this means if you sell in North Dakota

Owners who sell commercial property in North Dakota are priced on rent rolls, vacancy and the next tax bill, not just last year's numbers. A Cass County building at 5.3% vacancy reads differently to a buyer than the statewide 8.3% average.

Taxes deserve a close look before selling an apartment building in North Dakota. Because apartment buildings are assessed as commercial property at 10% of true and full value under NDCC 57-02-27, we model the next assessment rather than relying on the current bill alone. With no separate transfer tax, no state levy comes off the sale price itself.

We review North Dakota buildings of five or more units in Cass County and across the rest of the state. Send the rent roll and the latest North Dakota tax statement, and we will set the property as a multifamily buyer in North Dakota against these county and statewide figures.