Prefab Lite You expect to see 100′ foot cranes hovering over commercial construction sites. New residential homes, not so much. Yet that’s exactly what motorists, pedestrians, and neighbors saw last month on the 2800 block of Inglewood Avenue in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood. In fact, drivers had to view the massive crane from either 28th Street or...Read More
Skipping the Starter Home There’s some anecdotal evidence that first-time Buyers in the Twin Cities are making their mark a rung (or three) higher than you’d normally expect to find them. Namely, they’re disproportionately active in transactions around $500k — especially new construction in some of the more affordable ‘burbs — rather than in the...Read More
Back from North Dakota One of the biggest constraints on new construction the last several years has been a shortage of skilled labor. Thanks to the fracking boom, thousands of workers once employed in home construction decamped for greener (blacker?) pastures elsewhere. With the now-accelerating bust in energy prices, that exodus might now reasonably be...Read More
Deal Makers & Deal Breakers I don’t know about other housing markets, but at least in the Twin Cities, it’s not customary to include floor plans in MLS listings. In fact, I’d estimate that fewer than 1% of all listings have them. The two exceptions I’m aware of: 1) new construction, especially upper bracket and...Read More
“Do You Know a Good Lender/Home Inspector/Title Insurance Company?” “You better watch out You better not cry Better not pout I’m telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town He’s making a list And checking it twice; Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice Santa Claus is coming to town.” Unlike Santa Claus, Realtors...Read More
Cashing in on Proximity to South Harriet Park; Targeting “In-Between” Edina Home Buyers “Ar·bi·trage” \ˈär-bÉ™-ËŒtrazh\ [noun]: the practice of buying something in one place and selling it almost immediately in another place where it is worth more. –Merriam-Webster Dictionary It may not be the conventional definition of “arbitrage,” but something a bit like that is currently happening...Read More
