Southwest Minneapolis Market Activity: December 2008
The final real estate statistics for December, and the year of 2008, have been released by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities has been released. According to this monthly update, new listing activity in the Southwest Community was up compared to 2007. There were 51 new listings posted in Southwest Minneapolis, a +4.1% increase from the 49 listed during December of 2007. The Southwest Community increase in home listings was in contrast to the Minneapolis city-wide average of a -2.1% drop in new listings for December. The Camden community saw similar activity as the Southwest, but University, Powderhorn, and Northeast saw drastic increases in new listings while the rest of the Minneapolis communities saw decreases. Winter is generally a slow time listing time for real estate anyway. People tend to want to stay put during the holiday season.
Comparing the posted new listing for the 2008 year, there were 1,334 homes put up for sale in Southwest Minneapolis. During 2007, there were 1,563, which ends up being a decrease in new listings of -14.7%. This is very close to Minneapolis’ citywide new listing drop of -12.6% for the 2008 year. The greatest changes for 2008 have occurred in the Powderhorn community, which has seen an increase in listings of +20.1%, and the Uptown-Lakes community has had -26.7% fewer listings.
For closed sales, homes sold in Southwest Minneapolis during December were back up to nearly 2007 levels. There were 42 home sold in Southwest Minneapolis during December 2008 and there were 45 sold in the same month of 2007, a difference of 3 houses and -6.7%. For the 2008 year, Southwest Minneapolis had -18.7% fewer sales than in 2007.
The average sales price of a home in Southwest Community has decreased. In December, a home in Southwest Minneapolis sold for $231,976. That is a whopping -40.1% less than the $387,464 homes were selling for in December 2007. Part of this low average may be due to a higher number of more modestly priced homes being sold during the month. The average sales price of homes in the Southwest Community throughout the 2008 year was $366,837, which is -9.5% less than the $332,112 average price of 2007. The percentage of Southwest Community homes selling at their original list price increased to 92.8% last month from November’s 90.8%, but is still lower than the 93.3% of December 2007.
At 101 days, homes sold in Southwest Minneapolis during December were on the market for a shorter period of time than the same month of 2007. Then, a home was on the market an average of 117 days before it would sell. When the days a home spent on the market is separated out into detached single family homes and townhouse / condominium inventories, the statistics are different. Town homes and condos sold in December were only on the market an average of 33 days before selling, while single family homes averaged 196 days on the market. 196 is much better than November’s 245 and October’s 276 days.
This is just a snapshot of the Southwest Minneapolis real estate market made up of sales statistics and averages. These figures do not reflect individual situations or individual homes.
Featured Listing! 5009 Windsor Ave, Edina MLS# 3563906
Built in 1951, this cute as can be 1.5 story home in Edina has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
This home has a formal dining room, an eat in kitchen and updated appliances.
In this home, 2 bedrooms are located on the main floor and 2 are located upstairs.
The basement in this home has been finished. A downstairs fireplace is the perfect antidote to usually chilly basements.
This home is currently priced at $325,000.
To view my listing for this home, please click here. To search or browse other properties in Edina, please click here.
Edina - More Affordable Than You Think
Due to the holidays, I haven’t been doing a lot of updating lately, but I have been paying attention to what has been going on in real estate news. Being a Realtor, that probably isn’t much of a surprise. There have been two articles recently published by the Star Tribune that talk about one of my specific real estate areas, and that would be Edina MN. I’d like to talk a little bit about those two articles today.
Come Home to Edina? Easier Said Than Done! seems to paint a bleak picture of the affordability of homes in Edina. The article says that the median price of a single-family home in Edina hovers around $450,000 and I’m not sure what their source was, but it sounds about right. Much of what the article says is true: While there are pages and pages of town homes and condos available for reasonable prices, high demand for low- to moderately-priced single-family homes for young or growing families aren’t being met in Edina.
Just a few days earlier, the Star Tribune published Edina Isn’t So Rich, which points out that according to statistics from U.S. Census Bureau data, between 2005 to 2007 residents’ median household income of $76,805. That’s fifth among fully developed suburbs, behind Champlin, Minnetonka, Golden Valley and Shoreview. This statistic goes pretty far in explaining why homes tend to be higher priced in Edina: The median household income of the average Minnesota resident is $55,664. And neither of these figures account for accumulated wealth, which may be quite high as almost 21 percent of Edina’s residents are aged 65 and older.
You can do a lot of home improvements with an extra $20,000 per year, and in some cases this has included a lot of tear-downs and rebuilds. Just one aspect of why the median price of Edina MN homes is so high compared to the surrounding suburbs is because smaller “starter” homes have been slowly replaced with somewhat larger and more extravagant homes. As more and more of these homes appear in a neighborhood, it raises the property values of others nearby, even if no improvements have been made to them. That means a house that started out being worth $250,000 might be priced out of reach for the average person once two McMansions have been built on either side. Soon, the house that used to be the biggest on the block becomes the smallest as more people renovate, remodel, make additions, or do complete tear-down and rebuilds.
It’s a nasty cycle that can perpetuate on itself and raise property values so fast that many average home buyers are priced out of the market, as the first article was saying. It doesn’t help that now is winter and the slowest selling season of the year, resulting in fewer homes on the market. Then spring and summer hits, and prices tend to rise as buyers clamor for houses. Makes it seem like it’s impossible for some people to buy a home in Edina, even if they really want to live there.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t reasonably priced homes available and for those that might be just slightly out of your reach, there is at least one program which may help. As mentioned in the first article (It was bleak, but did have good information), Come Home 2 Edina, sponsored by the East Edina Housing Foundation, is a second mortgage program designed to provide assistance to families and individuals looking for affordable home ownership options in the city. For those families and individuals that qualify under the maximum household income, it can mean the difference between getting the right house in Edina, getting one that doesn’t fully suit your needs, or worse yet (if you have your heart set), not living in Edina at all. Check this program out if you think it could help you out.
Edina is a great place to raise a family. Almost one-quarter of Edina’s residents are under age 18, a higher proportion of young people than Minneapolis and 13 of the 19 suburbs that are classified as fully developed, including Bloomington, Burnsville and Minnetonka. There are plenty of great parks to go to. Edina Public Schools is an award winning institution in sports, debate, music, writing, and more. Employment options within Edina and in nearby suburbs abound, meaning you can be home easily in time for dinner. You can read more about Edina MN community information and history right here in this blog.
Additionally, I’d like to point out a few affordable homes in Edina that I have listed that would be perfect for a family. They are:
5321 Windsor Avenue - $229,900
420 Jackson Avenue S - $239,900
500 Arthur Street - $249,900
5120 Meadow Ridge - $250,000
6333 Wilryan Avenue - $315,000
5009 Windsor Avenue $325,000
You can also browse my listings of Edina MN homes for sale.
Edina Market Activity: November 2008
There are some good things happening for the real estate market in Edina compared to last year, according to the most recent edition of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100+ Twin Cities Communities. Let’s start at the usual place though. There were 63 new listings in November of 2008, a decrease of -20.3% compared to November of 2007’s 79. For the year to date between January and the end of November, there have been 1,485 new listings posted in Edina. That is more than a -20.0% decrease from the 1,523 listings posted during the same period of time during 2007.
There were 43 homes sold within Edina during the month of November, which is about -20.4% less than the 54 from the same month of 2007. Between January and November of this year, there were 612 homes purchased in Edina. That is about -11.4% less than the 691 homes sold during the same time period of 2007.
So where is this good news I was talking about? Well, brace yourself. Edina’s average home sales price increased for the second month in a row in November. The average price of an Edina home sold in November was $616,379. The average price of a home sold during the same month of 2007 was $406,340! That is a +51.7% increase! For the year to date, the average sales price of a home in Edina was $524,590, a +7.2% increase to the $489,215 of the same time period of 2007.
More Edina homes are selling at their original list price. A whopping +99.1% of the home sold during November 2008 closed for their original price. Last year, that figure was more like 91.6%. For the year to date, 94.2% of homes are selling for their original list price, which is the same for the same time period of 2007. Moral of the story? When pricing your Edina home for the market, make sure to price it right!
Homes for sale in Edina have been spending less time on the market than in 2007. In November, homes for sale in Edina were on the market for an average of 99 days before selling. That is a whole month less than the 130 days homes were spending on the market in November 2007. From January through November homes spent an average of 124 days on the market, four days less than during the same time period of 2007.
This is just a snapshot of the City of Edina MN real estate market, created with sales statistics and averages. These figures do not reflect individual situations.
Southwest Minneapolis Market Activity: November 2008
It’s that time again. The November 2008 edition of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities has been released. According to this monthly update, new listing activity in the Southwest Community continues to decrease compared to last year. During November, there were 67 new listings in Southwest Minneapolis, a -5.6% drop from the 71 sold during the same month of 2007. Once more the Southwest Community decrease in home listings was less than the Minneapolis city-wide average of -10.8% fewer listings. This time it was Nokomis and Uptown-Lakes that experienced drops in new listings, at -40.5% and -34.3% respectively. This decrease is to be expected, as winter is a slow time when it comes to selling real estate. Also, no one wants to shop for a house during the busy holiday season. Several communities experienced increases in new listings, thought, with the University Area topping them all with a +200.0% increase between +11.9% and +16.9%.
Comparing the posted new listing for the 2008 year-to-date, there have been 1,283 new listings of homes for sale in Southwest Minneapolis through November. During the same time period in 2007, there were 1,514, which adds up to a -15.3% decrease in new listings. This is very close to Minneapolis’ citywide year-to-date average new listing drop of -13.0%. The greatest changes for the year have occurred in the Powderhorn community, which has seen an increase in listings of +19.2%, and the Uptown-Lakes community has had -27.3% fewer listings.
Though we were holding steady for a few months with sales on par or better than the same month last year, November closed sales in Southwest Minneapolis dropped in November. There were 26 home sold in Southwest Minneapolis during November 2008 and there were 56 in November 2007. That is over a 50% decrease for the month! For the period beginning in January and ending in November, the Southwest Community of Minneapolis is -20.5% behind when compared to the same period of 2007.
The average sales price of a home in Southwest Community has decreased more. In November, a home in Southwest Minneapolis sold for $321,836. That is -18.6% less than the $395,136 homes were selling for in November 2007. It is still higher than the $305,185 homes in Southwest Minneapolis were selling for in September! The average sales price through November for the year to date in the Southwest Community is $338,723, which is -6.8% less than the $363,436 for the same time period of 2008. The percentage of Southwest Community homes selling at their original list price in November decreased to 90.8%.
Homes for sale in Southwest Minneapolis are spending longer on the market. In November 2007, a home there was on the market an average of 96 days before it would sell. In November of 2008, that number had been pushed back over one full month to 131 days. When that number is divided between detached single family homes and townhouse / condominium inventories, the statistics change. Town homes and condos sold in November were only on the market an average of 42 days before selling, which has been the average for at least two months and is on par with statistics from November 2007. Single family homes averaged 245 days on the market, which is better than October’s 276.
This is just a snapshot of the Southwest Minneapolis real estate market made up of sales statistics and averages. These figures do not reflect individual situations or individual homes.
Organic Composting in Edina?
In the past, I’ve written about how it’s easy to be green in Southwest Minneapolis. Having less of an impact on the environment is important to residents here, and there are plenty of examples within the community to show that. Now, I have some green news about my other major area of expertise, Edina!
The Edina City Council has recently approved an ordinance amendment to allow organic materials and yard waste to be collected and turned into compost. The biodegradable materials would be taken to a facility to undergo controlled microbial degradation to be turned into fertilizer.
The Morningside neighborhood has been participating in an organic recycling pilot project since July of this year. Veerkant Disposal has been collecting compostable materials from about 1,000 households within the neighborhood. The organic waste is collected and delivered to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, where it is turned into compost. RW Farms in Carver bags it up and sells it.
This program isn’t just for yard waste. Other items that can be collected for organic recycling include pizza boxes, tissues and kitchen scraps. Any paper that has food waste on it cannot be put in regular recycling, but it can be used in organic recycling.
At this time, current state regulations do not allow comingling of yard waste and organics. That is, your banana peels and pizza crusts need to be kept separate from yard clippings and dry leaves. The arboretum received an exemption for the pilot program. However, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is preparing to change its regulations to allow comingling of yard waste and organics.
Why is all of this important? A large portion of the solid waste put into landfills is organic matter. Instead of taking up space in landfills, the organic material could be put to good use as non-petroleum based fertilizer. At the same time, it slows the filling of landfills, which are costly to build and have great impacts on the surrounding community when they are established.
Organic recycling will begin throughout Edina as soon as the MPCA revises its regulations. The organic materials collection will be handled by private waste haulers, separate from regular recycling which is taken care of by the city. Organic waste could be collected every week by private haulers, with reduced frequency in the winter months when there isn’t yard waste. The amended city ordinance requires pickup at least every 14 days. Cost is expected to be the same as what people are charged for yard waste. Participation in the organic recycling program will be voluntary.
Holiday Celebrations in Southwest Minneapolis Parks
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board hosts holiday season programs and events at many recreation centers throughout the city. From making gingerbread houses to breakfasts with Santa, the Minneapolis Park System offers events for all ages. Here, I’ve weeded out the events which will be happening in Southwest Minneapolis. If you would like to know about events happening in other parts of the city, take a look here.
Pershing Park. 3523 W. 48th St. – Breakfast with Santa, Saturday, Dec. 13, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Crafts, breakfast with Santa; free. Register online at www.minneapolisparks.org or at the park by Thursday, Dec. 11. For more information call 612-370-4928.
Pearl Park. 414 E. Diamond Lake Rd. – Family Holiday Party, Friday, Dec. 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Decorate gingerbread houses, activities in the gym, holiday music and treats. $2 per person. For more information call 612-370-4906.
Fuller Park. 4800 Grand Ave. S. – Gingerbread House-making, Saturday, Dec. 13, 1-3 p.m. $6 per house, decorations supplied; cookies and cider served. For more information call 612-370-4963.
Lynnhurst Park. 1345 W. Minnehaha Pkwy. – Santa Brunch, Saturday, Dec. 13, 10:30 a.m.-noon; for all ages, $4 per person. Register online at www.minneapolisparks.org or at the park by Wednesday, Dec. 10. For more information call 612-370-4914.
Edina Minnesota Community Information
Throughout this blog, I’ve ended up talking a lot more about Southwest Minneapolis than my other market of expertise, Edina. I’ve decided that its probably time I write a little bit about Edina today! Edina is located in Hennepin County on the southwest side of Minneapolis and within the first ring of suburbs around the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Edina, a small farming and milling community 150 years ago, is today a community that is 95% developed. The population was 47,425 at the 2000 census.
The City of Edina actually began as part of Richfield Township. During the 1850s, seventeen families came to the area, claiming land in the southwestern part of what was Richfield Township at the time. Most of them came to the United States because of the potato famine in Ireland. English and Scottish farmers soon followed, claiming even more land near Minnehaha Creek. The Baird and Grimes and Country Club Districts, located in the northeast part of Edina, were among the first areas to be established. Both of these places are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1888, the residents of the township approved an idea to found a new village, starting the process of separating from Richfield Township. The first thing to tackle was what to call the new village. Several meetings were held and the names “Hennepin Park”, “Westfield” and “Edina” were suggested. Andrew Craik, who had moved to the township in 1869 from Edinburgh, had bought the local mill and named it the Edina Mill. He was the one who proposed the name. After much debate, it was finally decided in 1889.
Numerous major highways run through or next to Edina, making it readily accessible to the greater Twin Cities area. Minnesota State Highways 62, running east and west, and 100, running north and south, partition Edina into four sections. U.S. Route 169 in the western area of the city stretches north to south. Towards the southern end of the city Interstate 494 runs east to west. Minnesota State Highway 7 is less than three miles from Edina and Interstate 394 is within five miles. Edina is just a twenty minute drive from the Twin Cities International Airport.
Edina has several retail shopping centers, including Southdale Center, which was the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the country. Other shopping centers include the Galleria, Yorktown and Centennial Lakes Plaza. Edina shares the commercial area at West 50th Street and France Avenue South, known as “50th & France,” with Minneapolis.
Edina has over 1,500 acres of park land and green space. The Edina Park and Recreation Department tends to 44 parks. The features of these parks include baseball, football and soccer fields, softball diamonds, basketball and tennis courts, outdoor skating rinks, playground equipment, and picnic shelters. The Department also maintains eight miles of paths for biking, walking, jogging, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.
The majority of Edina is covered by Independent School District 273, which serves children primarily from within the city. There are about 7,500 K-12 students served by 1,139 teachers and support staff in 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 senior high school. Edina High School is frequently listed in the top 100 schools in the U.S. in academics. In addition, EHS has been listed in the top 10 in sports, the top 15 in debate, the top 40 in music, and has won national awards in writing and other areas. The elementary and junior high schools have won many national and state excellence awards. French, Spanish, Latin, Russian, and German, four styles of Japanese, three types of Chinese, and American Sign Language are all offered through Edina Public Schools.
There are three private schools in Edina: St. Peters Lutheran School, Calvin Christian, and School Our Lady of Grace, which is a Catholic school that serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
If you’re looking to further your education, Edina has some colleges to offer as well. Cardinal Stritch University, Devry University, Minnesota State University, Mankato education site and the Keller Graduate School of Management can all be found in Edina.
Edina’s nearness to downtown Minneapolis makes it a favored home for young professionals, middle managers and top executives. Edina has a reputation for being one of the most wealthy suburbs of Minneapolis. In 2000, the median income of Edina residents was $93,496. Edina is even home to some billionaires, like Richard M. Schulze and Carl Pohlad.
There are a wide range of available homes in Edina, including townhouses, condos, single-family homes and new home construction. Don’t let Edina’s reputation for affluence make you think there is no way you can afford a home there. Townhouses can be found in the mid $100,000s. Single-family homes in Edina range from arout $250,000 to over $4 million, while condominiums and
Browse homes for sale in Edina MN. Browse other homes for sale in Southwest Minneapolis and the Southwestern Suburbs.
Edina Market Activity: October 2008
According to the most recent edition of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100+ Twin Cities Communities, compared to last year there was an increase in the amount of new listings posted within the City of Edina during the month of October. There were 156 new listings in October of 2008, an increase of +22.8% compared to October of 2007’s 127. There were 1,422 new listings posted in Edina between January and October this year. That is just -1.5% fewer listings than the 1,444 listings posted during the same period of time during 2007.
There were 67 homes sales closed within Edina during the month of October, which is about +26.4% more closed sales than the 53 homes sold during the same month of 2007. Between January and October of this year, there were 565 homes purchased in the City of Edina. That is about -11.3% lesse than the 637 homes sold during the same time period of 2007.
Edina’s average home sales price, contrary to September, increased during the month of October. The average price of an Edina home sold in October of 2008 was $561,478. The average price of a home sold during the same month of 2007 was $518,703. That is an increase of about +8.2%. For the year to date, the average sales price of a home in Edina was $517,739, a +4.3% increase to the $496,241 of the same time period of 2007.
More Edina, Minnesota, homes are selling at their original list price. 93.9% of the home sold during the month of October 2008 closed for their original price. Last year in October, that figure was 93.0%. For the year to date, 93.8% of homes are selling for their original list price, compared to January through October of 2007’s 94.4%.
Homes for sale in Edina are spending less time on the market than they were in 2007. In October of 2007, homes for sale in Edina were on the market for an average of 115 days before selling. This year in October, homes were selling after just 96 days on the market! That is a decrease of -16.0%. Fort the year to date, from January through October homes spent an average of 126 days on the market, just one day longer than during the same time period of 2007.
This is just a snapshot of the City of Edina MN real estate market, created with sales statistics and averages. These figures do not reflect individual situations.
Southwest Minneapolis Market Activity: October 2008
The October 2008 edition of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities has been released. According to this monthly update, new listing activity in the Southwest Community continues to decrease compared to last year. During October, there were 108 new listings in Southwest Minneapolis, a -7.7% drop from the 117 sold during the same month of 2007. The Southwest Community decrease in home listings was less than the Minneapolis city-wide average of -13.3% fewer listings. The Downtown and University Area communities of Minneapolis experienced drops in new listings of -40.6% and -68.2% respectively. The Camden, Phillips, and Powderhorn communities experienced increases in new listings between +11.9% and +16.9%.
Comparing the posted new listing for the 2008 year-to-date, there have been 1,216 new listings for homes on the market in Southwest Minneapolis through October. During the same time period in 2007, there were 1,443, which adds up to a -15.7% decrease in new listings. This is very close to Minneapolis’ citywide average new listing drop of -13.2%. The greatest changes for the year have occurred in the Powderhorn community, which has seen an increase in listings of +19.2%, and the Uptown-Lakes community has had -26.9% fewer listings.
Like in September, October Southwest Minneapolis closed sales were nearly exactly the same level as last year. There were 57 closed home sales in Southwest Minneapolis for October 2008 and there were 61 in October 2007. The gap in the year to date closed sales is beginning to decrease. In September, the Southwest Minneapolis community was -26.5% behind in closed sales compared to last year. Now, at 606, the closed sales between January through October is -18.1% below the 740 sales for the same time period of 2007.
The average sales price of a home in Southwest Community has dropped compared to last year, but raised compared to September. In October, a home in Southwest Minneapolis sold for $361,388. Now, that is -8.4% fewer than the $394,319 homes were fetching in October 2007, but it is much higher than the $305,185 the average home in Southwest Minneapolis sold for in September! The average sales price through October for the year to date in the Southwest Community is $338,723, which is -6.8% less than the $363,436 for the same time period of 2008. The percentage of Southwest Community homes selling at their original list price in October decreased slightly from last year’s 93.3% to this year’s 93.2%. Both numbers are well above the Minneapolis city-wide average of 90.8% for October 2008.
Homes for sale in Southwest Minneapolis are spending longer on the market. In October 2007, a home in Southwest Minneapolis was on the market an average of 104 days before it would sell. In October of 2008, it was 121 days. When that number is divided between detached single family homes and townhouse / condominium inventories, the statistics change. Town homes and condos sold in October were only on the market an average of 42 days before selling, exactly the same as 2007’s 42 days. At the same time, single family homes averaged 276 days on the market, which is much better than 2007’s 308.
This is just a snapshot of the Southwest Minneapolis real estate market made up of sales statistics and averages. These figures do not reflect individual situations or individual homes.