Real Estate Guessing Game OK, which Twin Cities neighborhood am I describing? –It’s in Edina, east of Highway 100;–With its blend of rolling hills, wetlands, and manor-like homes on big lots (rules out Country Club), it feels like Minnetonka;–It’s an easy, five minute walk to both the Convention Grill and 50th & France. Give up?...Read More
Country Club Extravaganza Country Club is one of the premiere neighborhoods in Edina — indeed, in the entire Twin Cities. Mostly built in the ’20’s and ’30’s, Country Club homes are historically registered, and include some of the most impressive Tudors and Colonials around. There are currently 44 Country Club homes on the market ranging...Read More
Discounting for an Achilles Heel Normally, homes in Edina’s tony Country Club neighborhood fetch anywhere from $300 – $400-plus per square feet. The home pictured above, located at 49xx Sunnyside, is selling for $200 a square foot (divide the $850k asking price by 4,233 square feet). What gives? It’s located just east of Highway 100,...Read More
Real Estate Marketing 101 Realtors use “sign tents” in a variety of situations (it’s a called a “tent” because it’s in the shape of a triangle, and looks tent-like). The standard sign, of course, is “Please Remove Shoes.” But custom signs are a great way to call attention to hidden home features. So, I’ve had...Read More
Keeping Country Club . . . Country Club My law-practicing days (in the early ’90’s) are fading fast, but I do recall a basic principle about constitutional (vs. unconstitutional) zoning restrictions: general rules with a strong public policy component work, overly specific ones don’t. So, cities that don’t want Wal-Mart’s can’t simply pass an ordinance...Read More
WSJ: ‘Homes are Poor Long-Term Investments’ Today’s Wall Street Journal is running the latest in what has become a perennial real estate subject: how do homes fare as investments? (“Is Your Home a Good Investment?”). Its (non-groundbreaking) conclusion: long-term, homes barely beat inflation. In fact, depending on your starting point, statistics indicate that annual home...Read More
