If you are looking to relocate to Minnetonka or planning to work there- you are in for a treat! The city is focused on open space and wetlands, and most office buildings are close to walking paths and ponds. Let’s get into the market update for the Minnetonka area! We’ll take a look at June of 2009 compared to June of 2010. This June, there were 102 listings put on the market, down 27.1% from June of 2009. Closed home sales are also down in Minnetonka by 25.7% going from 74 to 55 closings this June. The average sales price of Lake Minnetonka homes went from $285,285 to $321,543 which is a 12.7% increase!! The median sales price went from $241,250 to $269,000 this June. The percent of original sale price received at the time of sale increased only 0.7% from 93.1% to 93.7%. This is a very good number meaning homes are priced right in this area! The average days on the market until sale in Minnetonka went from 161 to 122 days, down 24.4%. Detached single family home inventory is up 2.1% to 289 homes on the market and townhome-condo inventory is down 4.2% with 181 homes on the market in June 2010.
Now we’ll take a look at year to date, comparing 2009 to 2010. New listings in Minnetonka increased 4.3%, going from 739 new listings in 2009 to 771 in 2010. Closed sales are up 2.8% with 291 closings in 2010 (up from 283 in 2009). Median sales price went from 234,900 to $255,000 in 2010. The average sales price is up 4% from $282,005 to $293,224. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale is up 1.8%, going from 91.2% to 92.8%. The average days on the market until sale decreased 24.4% (WOW), with an average this year of 129 days.
With the percent of original sales price received at the time of sale being up from last year and the days on the market being up a lot from last year as well, it leads us to believe that homes in Minnetonka are moving! It’s looking a lot better from a seller’s perspective over last year. There’s no telling where the market is going at this point, but any move in the right (positive) direction is progress!
Tags: Lake Minnetonka Homes, minnetonka real estate, minnetonka real estate update
Over the years I have really come to appreciate and love the Lake Minnetonka area. It has so many things to offer that I just had to tell you why I love Lake Minnetonka homes. The homes on Lake Minnetonka are very diverse in size, shape and age.
- There are some homes that have been on the lake since the turn of the century when the lake was the weekend getaway for the Minneapolis elite. They would take the train out to Wayzata and then boat or horse carriage to their summer cottages. Conversely, as larger pieces of land are split up and old houses are torn down, new homes continue to be built on the water. Many of these in the $1 million plus range.
- Lake Minnetonka real estate offers historic 1920s homes with beautiful wood floors and palatial estates. On the other end, there are many newer constructed condos and townhouses that give the owner access to docks and the lake, but none of the exterior upkeep of a traditional home. Colonial, modern, art deco, traditional and even craftsman are all housing styles that will experience on Lake Minnetonka.
- Size and price often go hand in hand in housing. Lake Minnetonka houses are no exception. While there are some properties that are affordable on the lake, most homes start at $500k and go up from there. The Pillsbury mansion was probably the most expensive home at $53 million, although it never did sell. You will find a larger proportion of wealth and large homes in this area than anywhere else in the Twin Cities area.
- Because of the winding roads and very crazy shoreline, the lake has many secluded homes on it. Some you can only see from the water. This give you an excellent opportunity to have your own private retreat, just 30 minutes from downtown Minneapolis. This feature is what has appealed to many homeowners out there.
- The towns around Lake Minnetonka are wonderful. Some like Wayzata are hip and fashionable; others like Minnetrista are sleepy and friendly. Depending upon what you are looking for, there are many different types of neighborhoods and towns you can consider. Before you move, you should visit these Lake Minnetonka communities to learn more about their individual personalities and history.
- Ever since Highway 12 was extended around Long Lake, it has been much easier to get home. This approximately 5 mile detour is 60 miles per hour and perfect for zipping downtown from your lake home.
Whatever appeals to you can be found out in Lake Minnetonka real estate. Just ask and we can help you find it.
| http://www.lakeminnetonkarealestates.com/ |
Tags: Lake Minnetonka Homes, Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale, lake minnetonka houses, Lake Minnetonka Minnesota, lake shore, minnetrista, pillsbury mansion, Wayzata
Have you always dreamed of having a home on Lake Minnetonka? You are not alone. The water has an allure that is easy to understand. Maybe this is why houses can be so expensive on the lake. Fortunately, there has never been a better time to buy a Lake Minnetonka home. With property prices down by 25% and interest rates at all time lows, you can find that dream home.
So where do you start?
- I think an important starting point is to simply drive around the lake exploring. Because Lake Minnetonka is so large, it has many different towns around it. Each of those towns has different things to offer and different personalities. Wayzata on the east side is very different than Mound on the west side. Excelsior is a sleepy place, except on summer weekend nights when Lord Fletchers is open. Driving around and checking out the areas will help you first hone in on what part of the lake you are interested in. You should also review the distance from your work and family. While Wayzata is close to the city, Excelsior is 15 minutes further west.
- While the property prices are much lower and interest rates are at rock bottom, the process for securing a mortgage has gotten much more difficult that years past. Your second step should be to research and find a mortgage broker that you trust, enjoy, and will able to get your loan completed and closed on time. Lately many house deals are not getting closed because the financing blows up at the 11th hour. Make sure you have a dependable mortgage person that you can trust. If you don’t get that feeling with the first person you meet, find another until you do.
- Researching Lake Minnetonka homes for sale requires some special skills. Many of these homes are very different from each other. They have dock rights, lake frontage, deeded access, etc. You need to find and work with a real estate agent that has expertise in Lake Minnetonka houses. When you are driving around, write down names of agents that have a lot of signs out there. Also stop in the local real estate office in the town your are interested in and ask the manager who their top buyer’s agent is. Call these and meet them for coffee. Find out which one really does know the area. Find out which one sells a lot of homes in the area. Probably as important, find out which one you enjoy and want to work with. You will be spending some considerable time with this agent, you want like them.
- Use your newly found real estate agent to teach you more about the communities around the lake. Confirm that your exploration has helped you make a decision on which town to concentrate your search on.
- Have your Realtor set up a search in the MLS for you with the criteria of the homes that you are looking for. Make sure that this search automatically sends you an email whenever a house hits the market that meets your parameters. This way you will be on top of the ever changing market and can make a quick decision to put in an offer on something or not without wasting time.
- Lastly, be engaged in the process. Partner with your real estate agent to become a team and find that home you have always wanted. When you do, make an offer and ride the excitement.
Buying Lake Minnetonka homes is not difficult, but doing some work ahead of time to be sure that you are ready, will make the process go smoother and will be more enjoyable.
Tags: Lake Minnetonka Homes, Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale, lake minnetonka houses, mound, Wayzata
On Wednesday, fire crews from 10 different communities were called to 4750 Baycliffe Road in Minnetrista to battle a large house fire. The fire began shortly before 10am in the 8,100 square foot house. While the actual cause is not known, no fowl play is suspected. It was most likely caused by an electrical short, since this house was one of the first homes built on Lake Minnetonka in 1900.
The home had been listed on the MLS for sale just days earlier at $2.1 million. It has 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms and sits on just over 1 acre. It has a very impressive view of Lake Minnetonka and a large dock for multiple boats. The current owner has lived at the property since 1978 (she paid $135k for it back then!).
Luckily the firefighters found the 2 cats and bird unharmed, despite the roof falling in and all 3 floors extensively damaged. Hopefully the homeowner can rebuild this historical Lake Minnetonka Home.
Tags: Lake Minnetonka Homes, Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale, minnetrista
Lake Minnetonka is located about 15 miles west of Minneapolis. The 10th largest lake in Minnesota, it is spread out over 14,004 acres, with 125 miles of coast. That gives a lot of room for boating, swimming, and fishing. It also gives a lot of room for communities to spread out, and most of them maintain a “small-town feel” (although they do have big city real estate prices!)
So let’s talk about Lake Minnetonka real estate. Communities surrounding the south of Lake Minnetonka are from west to east, Shorewood, Greenwood (with the city of Minnetonka behind it), Deephaven and Woodland. To the north of the lake are, from west to east, Orono, Crystal Bay and Wayzata.
Lake Minnetonka is divided into a few bays. Wayzata and Woodland surrounds Wayzata Bay. Shorewood lines the shore of Gideon Bay. Crystal Bay is west of Crystal Bay, and Smith’s Bay is to the east.
Lake Minnetonka real estate is more expensive the closer to the lake shore one gets.
The east end of Lake Minnetonka has, on average, the most expensive real estate available. This is because of the neighbors – famous musicians (like Prince), professional athletes (a few of the Twins), and many prominent Twin Cities businesspeople live in this area. The geography also has something to do with it – this end is the closest to Minneapolis. And the fishing is reputed to be better at this end of the lake as well!
Homes right on Lake Minnetonka run the gamut, from “McMansions” to historic homes built by noted architects, some that are over a hundred years old. Indeed, there’s are boat tours around the lake that focus on giving the history of some of these more storied homes.
There are many real estate agents that handle the sale of homes in the Lake Minnetonka area. Most of these agents have an overarching company with a website that features photos and descriptions of each and every home for sale. And of course a few home owners offer their property for sale themselves. Although the Lake Minnetonka housing market has not been as severely effected by the mortgage crisis as many other cities, there are some houses in foreclosure that may be purchased.
Shore frontproperty, or property relatively near the shore front, will always be in demand and retain its value. Well…one must not say always. But practically always!
Tags: Deephaven MN, excelsior, Lake Minnetonka Real Estate Market Update, lake shore, Wayzata, wayzata bay, Woodland
Most people have problems on how to solve their loans and credits being made to buy their house or their car. Mortgage refinancing is the best way to make remedy to the problem; it is very important that you know the basic things that will keep you afloat in the next years by extending your cash flow a little bit. Mortgage is the act of giving the creditor the partial ownership of the property which can either be house or car and any other assets that have market value. It is a form of loan with collateral in action. The creditor has the right to get full ownership of the property in the event the debtor fails to pay the loan being drawn in the process of lending. Moreover, the debtor also has the right to retain ownership at the payment of the said loaned with the interest.
To refinance mortgage in order to retain ownership of the property is important. You need to carefully draw the line of the process very clearly. First, mortgage refinancing is paying the creditor of the said loan to retain ownership of the property by letting another to get thee said ownership partially. It is like a cyclic loan system where you are keeping on getting loans and money to pay another loan to save certain collateral damages.
* There are many refinancing firms that give you full assurance of consolidated loan to set off your property from any collateral damages. Refinancing institutions act as the help mate of people to solve their loan from lending firms. Why is it great to have refinancing agents?
1. The interest is lower than the original loan thus allowing you to get your loan in the balance; you will be paying much of the capital rather than just the interest due. Interest of the refinancing allows you to get new cash flow and solve your problem in the near future.
2. Longer period is also allowed in refinancing allowing you to maintain your cash in good condition. Although, the length of the loan is longer but you are assure that you are getting the loan at its best by getting it for long time with lower interest.
3. Refinancing your mortgage gives you the opportunity to make use of the property or to sell it off in due time if situation does not improve.
* Mortgage refinancing involves many aspect of lending. Home mortgage caters this one allowing you to make your house the collateral damage and saving it through refinancing. Even car mortgage runs the same pattern as this one. You can see several means that your mortgage can be accommodated by refinancing.
Mortgage refinancing is the best way to make use of the market advantage of lending. You can stretch some more time, buying more of it while looking for means to solve it. It is very clear that refinancing gives full assurance of a financial cash flow in the future.
Tags: Market Update, median sales price, mortgage, new listings
What’s not to love about Lake Minnetonka with all the wonderful outdoor activities and gorgeous views?! This area consists of 14 different cities. We will first look at April of 2009 compared to April of 2010. This April, there were 224 listings put on the market, up 9.3% from last April. Closed sales are up in Lake Minnetonka by 23.3% going from 43 to 53 closings this April! The average sales price went from $371,086 to $594,290 which is a 60.1% increase!! The median sales price went from $318,000 to $350,000. The percent of original sale price received at the time of sale increased only 1.5% from 85.9% to 87.3%. The average days on the market until sale in Lake Minnetonka went from 222 to 231 days, up only 3.6%. Housing inventory went down; single family detached inventory is down 5.1% to 676 homes on the market and townhome-condo inventory is down 1.4% to 144 homes on the market.
Now we’ll take a look at year to date, comparing 2009 to 2010. New listings for Lake Minnetonka real estate increased 3.9%, going from 698 in 2009 to 725 in 2010. Closed sales are up 14.8% with 186 closings in 2010. The average sales price is down only 2.1% from $512,745 to $502,048. The percent of original list price received at the time of sale is up 5.3%, going from 84.9% to 89.4%. The average days on the market until sale decreased 3.7%, and is only an 8 day difference with an average this year of 211 days.
The most noticeable statistic here is the number of closed sales which has increased dramatically over last year! This is a very good sign for the market in Lake Minnetonka Homes! However, each city does have very different numbers. Some of these cities included in the Lake Minnetonka area had no movement in April of 2009 and some in April of 2010. The city with the most closed sales out of the bunch is Mound by far, and Orono currently has the most active listings.
Tags: Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale, Lake Minnetonka Real Estate Market Update, Lake Minnetonka real estate update
After writing the post about the Pillsbury Home in Orono called Southways, I have received many questions about if this property ever sold.
The home is reported to have 32,000 square feet of space in the main house and another 10,000 square feet in the “secondary” structures. It sits on almost 13 acres with 1700 feet of shoreline on a peninsula on the tip of Brackets Bay on Lake Minnetonka. Currently owned by James and Mary Jundt of Scottsdale Arizona, the taxes are $210k per year! The home features 9 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, and a 12 car garage. It has multiple indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court, riding stables, a 15,000 bottle wine cellar, tea house, smoking room, and a caretaker cottage.
This is only the 2nd time since 1918 that this home has come up for sale. The price was set at $53,500,000 (although the tax assessed value of this Lake Minnetonka home is only $17 million). It stayed on the market for 435 days and does not appear to have sold as the listing expired in October 2009 and the tax records show the Jundt as still owning it.
I wish that I had thought of this! Coldwell Banker’s Distinctive Homes division is hosting a 4 hour tour that will showcase 176 different properties that are located on lakes. With properties stretched from 2 hours into Wisconsin and 2 hours south into Minnesota, you would not be able to see all of them, but it is a great opportunity to get out and see some fantastic houses. Of the 176 homes, 80 of them are listed at $1 million or more. Over 100 of these properties are on Lake Minnetonka. I never realized Coldwell Banker had that many Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale.
The Lake Minnetonka properties include 13 that are priced at over $3 million, 39 are less than $1 million and 13 are below $600k. All are on the lake. Prices have dropped considerably and now is the best time ever to buy that dream home on the water that you always wanted. With interest rates low and buyers have more control over the process, many customers are getting into the market.
The most expensive home on the tour is a 5900 square foot house on almost 3 acres on Lake Minnetonka. This East Coast-style home was built in the 1930s and has an asking price of $5.4 million, down from almost $6.5 million this time last year. It is located in Woodland and features 4 fire places, seven bathrooms, but only 4 bedrooms. It features Panoramic views of Spirit Island, Wayzata Bay, virgin maple forests and untouched wetlands. Extras include: cook’s kitchen, his and her baths and dressing rooms, wine cellar, exercise room, separate offices.
If you would like a personal tour of this or any other homes in the Lake Minnetonka area, please contact me.
Tags: Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale, properties, Wayzata, wayzata bay, Woodland
Tom Petters was forced to forfeit his Lake Minnetonka home to the government earlier this year. The 7 bedroom, 9300 square feet home has been on the market for about 15 months. It originally was listed at $8.25 million, but more recently dropped to $6.2 million. The property is located on 1.23 acres, has 250 feet of lake shore, a 6 car garage and a guest house. The buyers, who paid a recorded $5 million for the property, were identified only by Brian and Carolyn Taylor in court documents. According to the listing agent the home had 37 showings and 1 rejected offer.
Although the home is difficult to see from the roadside, it was a popular destination for Lake Minnetonka charter boat operators that would point out the home when cruising their customers. The lakeside view is quite impressive with multiple decks and balconies. The property has a modern feel to it with creme trim and gray wood siding. Despite the economy, Lake Minnetonka Real Estate is still selling as this is the 2nd home to sell for more than $5 million in the last 2 years.
Petters was recently convicted of a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme along with his co-defendants. Despite maintaining his innocence and claiming he knew nothing of the fraud, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Tags: Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale, Lake Minnetonka Minnesota, Lake Minnetonka Real Estate Market Update, tom petters
