Lake Harriet: A jewel in the crown of Southwest Minneapolis
When people decide to move to the Minneapolis area, they often inquire around and inevitably somebody or a something (a website perhaps?) suggests South or Southwest Minneapolis. Whenever this panacea for too much fun in warm weather and sun is offered, the suggestion is usually immediately followed by something like “Oh, you just have to live by Lake Harriet…it is such a beautiful area, especially for a city lake”.
Well, I tend to agree. This city lake has old-growth, upper-bracket homes around it’s immediate perimeter. All neighborhoods surrounding Lake Harriet, especially Linden Hills, Fulton, Armitage and Lynnhurst are very sought-after by people who live and work within the city, want beautiful parks and trails within a short distance and want to be able to walk or bike to these amenities. 
These neighborhoods tend to be priced between $300K-$750K. The style of homes has a combination of Dutch-Colonial, Victorian, Prairie, Craftsman and a few modern tear-down/rebuilds, typically constructed to fit into the period of the surrounding neighborhoods. The homeowners in these neighborhoods are usually not interested in the newer construction style of the 2nd and 3rd tier suburbs, and are not interested in a commute to the suburbs. These people are interested in older, character homes, safe neighborhoods and typically have a tighter community involvement, which is logical, as the neighborhoods are much more condensed. The Lake Harriet area provides for all city-dwellers who want some of the neatest, prettiest neighborhoods in the entire country.
Here are some basic facts on Lake Harriet: It has 2 beaches, biking and waking trails which connect to the other lakes and the Greenway, is bordered by the Como-Harriet streetcar, and was named after Harriet Lovejoy - who lived with her colonel-husband at Fort Snelling. Lake Harriet was donated to Minneapolis by Colonel William S. King in 1885, can be fished for muskies, and has a great summer-time band-shell for classical, jazz, new-age, blues and other forms of music. Also, the perimeter walking distance (although frequently disputed) is about 3 miles.
The Lake Harriet area is one of the key factors in making Southwest Minneapolis such a great area to live. Along with the great neighborhoods, great schools, great coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques, you will find Lake Harriet also connects (by trails and water) to Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. Also, it is near the great 50th and France neighborhood of Southwest Minneapolis and East Edina.
My family and I went for a walk around the lake the Sunday evening, so I took a few photos. One is of my family (yes, Wendy is pregnant with our fourth child), one is the band-shell, and another photo is one of my favorite homes just off Lake Harriet, which was recently renovated.
8294 Drexel Court, Eden Prairie - Hawthorne Neighborhood
A new listing - 8294 Drexel Court, Eden Prairie. This home is in the Hawthorne neighborhood, just North of Bear Path, and South of HWY 5, right near many lakes and not too far from Lake Minentonka. Please open this link and see the adjoining VHT (video) tour.
Many updates throughout, but of special note in the kitchen are the new granite countertops and new appliances. Also, it has new carpet and updated paint!
This home has 4 bedrooms all on the same level and a full master-suite. The beautiful landscaping compliments the newly and fully-fenced, huge yard, which also has an underground sprinkler system.
Super Real Estate Agent 2008 - Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine
I was just informed that I was nominated as a ‘2008 Super Real Estate Agent’, per Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine.
Less than 4% of realtors in Minnesota are awared this honor. According to the criteria, this is not based upon transaction volume, but upon quality of service, as perceived by clients and associates.
My primary area of focus per the award is the Minneapolis metro real estate market with an emphasis on Minneapolis, Edina and the Southwest metro area.
This will be in the late-summer edition of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine.com
A very big THANK YOU! to those who thought my service was worthy of the nomination.
The Financial Genius Behind Edina Realty - Warren Buffett
Edina Realty is not just a brand name that stops at the local level. Many people are surprised to find that Edina Realty is ultimately owned by Warren Buffett.
More details in this article
Yes, that is correct. Edina Realty is owned by Home Services of America, the second largest realty network in the country. Home Services of America is owned by Berkshire Hathaway and Berkshire Hathaway, as almost all know, is owned by ‘The Oracle of Omaha’ - Warren Buffett.
In 1992, Edina Realty manager - Ron Peltier - was named president and CEO. Then in 1999, Peltier was named President and CEO of Edina Realty’s holding company - Minneapolis-based Home Services of America. Instead of co-opting existing national brand names, Peltier’s strategy was to take the best of local market brands and keep the name and management in place, then optimizing each firm. He took the best and made them better.
Home Services of America continued this pattern of acquiring the best local real estate firms throughout the country. Eventually this was seen by Warren Buffett as the right strategy. As a result, Berkshire Hathaway acquired Home Services of America in 2000. Great timing, but what do you expect from Warren Buffett?
Edina Realty was started in 1955 by Edina resident, Emma Rovick. She borrowed $2,000 and bought a fledgling real estate firm, in order to make enough to purchase a piano for her daughter. The first office had 3 agents and sold $2 million in the first year. The first office was at 50th and France…which is the very same location I office out of.
Currently, with just under 3,000 realtors, there are over 80 offices in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Edina Realty is a full-service brokerage, offering real estate, title and mortgage services, with annual sales at $8.3 billion dollars. EdinaRealty.com is the twin cities’ most trafficed real estate website, and currently has about 80% of the twin cities entire real estate web searches through this portal. Edina Realty is also Minneapolis/St. Paul’s largest real estate brokerage. Read the Edina Realty Story
Not a bad turnout for simply trying to buy your daughter a piano!
Lowball Offers: Definition, Accompanying and Rebuttal Letters
A worthwhile article to read can be found posted in the NY Times, via Yahoo Finance. The name of the article is ‘Negotiating for a house, start with a ‘Dear Seller.’
It provides a ‘Dear Seller’ letter to accompany your lowball offer. The letter is essentially an attempt at explaining the lowball offer. In my opinion, while perhaps effective, this letter can be seen as insulting to the seller, but perhaps not nearly as insulting as a straight-lowball offer, with no explanation. In this same letter, author - Ron Lieber - provides a lowball offer and lowball rebuttal letter.
Several things to consider: First, what constitutes a lowball offer? Is there a textbook, or market definition? Any search for a real definition is fruitless. In my opinion, the term is subjective in the first place.
When an offer is defined as a ‘lowball’ you must consider four factors:
- The initial list price,
- It’s current price, and #1 and #2’s relation to
- Fair Market Value
- Are we in a seller’s market, buyer’s market, or a ‘transitional’ market from one to the other.
If we are in a seller’s market (e.g. 2001-2005, in most places) then in most cases, an offer of 5% or lower would have been considered a lowball. If we are in a buyer’s market (2005 - current, in most places) then it may not be considered a lowball offer until it is 10% below list price or more.
If an offer comes in 15 percent off the initial list price, but - with the help of your professional realtor - you both determine that the home is priced 15 percent higher than it should be in the first place (based upon a CMA which determines Fair Market Value), then is it really a ‘lowball offer’? Well, yes. The seller’s asking price is high, but the offer does come in significantly lower than said asking price. Essentially, it should be viewed from the perspective of the current asking price.
I would suggest that if you write an accompanying letter with a lowball offer, specify that you have done a market analysis of the property and you have determined that the property you are making an offer on is priced high, or fairly priced. Then state the reason(s) for the lowball offer. Example: Aside from the market being tough for sellers, we have determined through a CMA that your home is overpriced by 15% in the first place. This being said, I would also attach a copy of the CMA (comparative market analysis) so your lowball reasoning can be backed up. The numbers don’t lie.
If your lowball is offered on a home that is priced at fair market value, then your battle will be uphill even more so. You will have to determine the sellers motivation, and probably offer a few other incentives in the process; a quick-close, total flexibility on the closing date, cash, offer to pay for movers, or whatever creative means you and your realtor can come up with.
The point: thow the seller a bone so they do not feel as though it is a total loss.
Seller’s: read the rebuttal letter carefully, and strategize with your realtor the proper time to make your stand, or to negotiate the lowball offer up to a price point you are comfortable with. Remember, the seller did pick your home out of the litter!
The days on market times for Minneapolis, Edina, and the surrounding areas can be found and analyzed at the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR). Having a command of this market data from the perspective of the seller or the buyer is very important, but as always, I suggest having your professional realtor help you correctly interpret the data, especially with regard to your specific neighborhood and home.
Remember: If you think working with a professional is expensive…try working with an amateur.
An Analysis of Minneapolis vs. National Real Estate Markets
I read an article on the national real estate market, linked from The Weekly Standard.
Unlike most articles though, it does more than just list the problems and point fingers: It also suggests a 3-pronged approach to resolving the problem in the housing market. This is rare, as most people are not up to sticking their necks on the line, for fear of being made a fool of. This is logical, for as the article accurately (I think) points out, we’ve not yet been in a comparable position within the housing market, ergo we do not have previous data by which to go by.
This article is written by Lawrence Lindsey. In it he makes several well-known good points:
- Homebuilders built too many homes
- Prices rose too high and
- Credit standards were too low
A strong point the article makes is that our government is financially propping up builders, which gives them the ability to build more homes, which at this point is the last thing we need.
Also included though are three groups Lindsey suggests can or will help repair our market. He also explores these groups a bit in depth and elaborates what he means. The groups are;
- Inflation hedgers, aka speculators
- Foreign Investors (proper property investors)
- Proper government intervention
Further into the article, you get the money quote:
“Now is not the time for ideology from the left wing (soak the rich, punish speculators, and conduct a witch-hunt through the financial community) or the right-wing variety (stave off government involvement of any form).”
I agree that neither of these extremes would help.
Obviously the Minneapolis metro market is a bit different than the national market as a whole. It can best be described as a teeter-totter. You have the East and West Coast at the ends of the plank…they go way up and when they come down, they go way down. The midwest is more like the center of the teeter-totter, we have the ups and downs, just not to the extremes that they do on the ends (East coast and West coast) of the teeter-totter.
Within the Minneapolis metro area, certain parts of the Southwest lakes area and East Edina remain very strong. When a good listing comes on the market, it often sells very quickly. When you start pushing out further into the suburbs, especially the 2nd and 3rd tier, the market changes quite drastically. Also, North Minneapolis, certain parts of Northeast Minneapolis, the condo/townhome market and 1st tier Northern suburbs are much slower.
The rule of thumb, try to stick to the areas that historically remain strong: West Bloomington, East Edina, Southwest Minneapolis - especially around Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. Great neighborhoods of the Southwest and East Edina area (by name) are: Kenwood, Lowry Hill, Linden Hills, Fulton, Armitage, Lynnhurst, Minnekada Vista, Fern Hill, Morningside, Country Club and a few others of the Southwest and East Edina area.