What Are They Really Worth? Put it this way: the picture of toilet paper should give you a hint. First, some background. In Minnesota, the first things that typically lead off any offer to purchase residential real estate are the Buyer’s earnest money check, and a pre-approval letter from a lender (unless the Buyer is...Read More
Housing Market Circular Reasoning The reason more upper bracket homes aren’t selling . . . is because more upper bracket homes aren’t selling. Huh? Once a deal is struck, the lender’s appraiser seeks to substantiate the value of the collateral — the home being sold — by looking to other, similar homes that have sold...Read More
Risk of Not Appraising Borne by Buyer The very rich are different from you and me. –F. Scott Fitzgerald Fitzgerald might have added, “and so are their home transactions.” One of the features of truly upper bracket homes is that the individuals who buy them — by definition — are people of substantial means. If...Read More
Real Estate as a Haven Conventional wisdom to date has been that a rocky stock market bodes poorly for upper bracket housing. That’s because, compared to other Buyers, upper bracket Buyers presumably have more exposure to stocks. When stocks take a hit, so does their purchasing power. Witnessing the latest stock market gyrations, I’m wondering...Read More
Dave Alan Homes in Minneapolis’ Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Feel the city breakin’ And ev’rybody shakin’ And we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, Stayin’ alive. Stayin’ alive. Ah, ha, ha, ha, Stayin’ alive. –lyrics, “Staying Alive” (The Bee Gees) How does a local home builder weather an epic downturn in new construction amid...Read More
Great Value Overlooking Lake Edina Where: 4904 Poppy Lane in Edina What: 4 BR/3BA walkout rambler with 4,200 FSF and pool overlooking Lake Edina How (much): $699k Who: listed by Steve Stewart; broker is Edina Realty Historically, homes in Edina enjoyed some of the best appreciation in the Twin Cities — and weathered economic downturns...Read More
