Edina was the only community with more than 200 home sales last year that posted an increase in home sale prices. In 2008, the median sale price of Edina homes sold through the Regional Multiple Listing Service was $388,250, up 3 percent from 2007. Throughout the metro area, the median sale price fell 13.3 percent.
–“Edina: Suburban Star”; Star Tribune (1/23/09)
Edina is a wonderful community, full of well-built homes, great neighborhoods, and outstanding schools. Home prices there have doubtless held up better than other parts of the Twin Cities in what is the worst housing bear market in decades.
However, it’s stellar 2008 performance is skewed — upwards — by the presence of a single, high-end development: the Westin Galleria.
According to the Multiple Listing Service, 26 units in the Westin Galleria sold in 2008 for an average sales price of $1.063 million; the least expensive was $400,000 — still above the median Edina home’s sale price.
Without the Westin’s upward pull, it appears that the median Edina sales price last year actually fell about 2%-3%. That’s still exceptionally strong — just not quite as strong as appears at first blush.
Ross,
That’s a good catch on your part. Statistics are so interesting for this very reason… even in an area with high numbers of sales you can still have numbers skew when something dramatic happens… and this is a prime example of that. Kudos!