Sold! (For 1/3 of Tax Assessed Value) What: 3BR/3BA walkout rambler with almost 2,600 FSF Where: 2625 Quentin Ave. South, in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood How much: originally listed for $226,800 on Aug. 5. When: closed Nov. 18 (Thursday); just posted on MLS this morning. “Exhibit A” under the category, “don’t go by...Read More
Buy the Lot, Get the Home for Free Beautiful property with west views of Highland Lake! Premier lot close to Interlachen golf course! Home is not available for showing. –per MLS “Home for sale, home not available for showing.” Huh?? It turns out that what’s really for sale here is the land: according to Hennepin...Read More
Teardown-Lite What do you get when you combine a high-demand, close-in neighborhood, smallish existing housing stock, and small city lots (typically, 120′ x 40′)? Not tear-downs, because of the lot size. And not bump-outs, for the same reason (there’d be no yard left). Give up? Pop-up’s. As in added second stories. One of the areas...Read More
“X” Factor: Realtor’s Credibility First there was the “Dear Seller” letter, drafted by the Buyer (“We loved your home from the minute we walked in . . .”) Then came the “experienced short-sale agent” claims on MLS, dangled by listing agents trying to convince prospective Buyers that the odds of a deal will be better...Read More
Metastasized Mold Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian, has a well-worn bit called “You know you’re a redneck when . . .” I suppose the real estate equivalent would be, “you know it’s a tear-down when . . .” In that spirit: You know it’s a tear-down when . . . the mold in the home has...Read More
Exactly Where Are All Those $206k New Homes?? As [new home] sales rose, median prices . . . continued to fall, slipping to $206,200 from $232,100 in June a year ago. –Jack Healy, “New U.S. Home Sales Rise Sharply as Prices Fall“; The New York Times (7/27/09) The big financial headline today is an unexpected...Read More
