In an effort that would appear misguided at first glance Minneapolis City Council voted June 29th to restrict the size and scale of new construction and remodeling.  The unanimous vote seeks to address concerns over so called "Monster Houses" a.k.a  "McMansions".  While the concerns are highly warranted in many cases, the concern would be that this effort further hurts a slow housing market, and drives investment capital to less restrictive areas, like Edina and St. Louis Park.The bill authored by Ward 13 Council Member Betsy Hodges basically restricts the overall size of what can be built on a city lot.     While it raises a lot of concerns, I feel the bill will actually help builders and home owners in many cases.  The replacement housing effort (new and remodel) works under different... 07/02/2007

Kingfield is named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..  Located between Interstate 35W on the east and Lyndale Ave. on the west, the northern border is 36th St., and 46th St. on the south.  Kingfield neighborhood became part of Minneapolis in 1887 when the city border was extended from 38th St. to 54th St.. Kingfield is mainly a residential area.   Roughly 75% of its single-family houses were built prior to 1920. The Kingfield neighborhood has a number of amenities including churches, schools, a park also named after Martin Luther King Jr., and three- to four-dozen small businesses.  Some of the more popular local haunts include Anodyne coffee house and Victor's 1959 Café.  The Farmers Market, Sundays (June - Oct), at 43rd and Nicollet, is a must with a wonderful selection of local good a... 07/01/2007

Linden Hills:Charming and quaint Linden Hills is just south of Lake Calhoun and west of Lake Harriet. It is bordered to the south by West 47th St. and to the west by France Ave.  Named by a developer for the abundance of linden trees and rolling hills.  Developed in the 1880s as lake cottages, most of the original cottages have been replaced by bungalows and Tudors.  The Lake Harriet Band Shell features music all summer. The current band shell is a fifth generation music venue on the lake. The first two were destroyed by fire, and the second was destroyed by a wind storm. The fourth band shell was demolished in 1985.Fishing is actually very good in the city lakes.  Long time area resident Nathan Caskey recently landed this Norther Pike while fish next to the Lake Harriet Band Shell.The ... 06/24/2007

 Your solution for Outfitting your Minneapolis home with the Perfect Lighting FixtureOne of the most difficult tasks of home design comes with the finishing touches. Choosing lighting fixtures can quickly become a headache. Size, orientation, finish, and design are just a few details that must be considered. Your best bet is to visit a lighting show room. Not only will you have fixtures you can see on location, but you can also speak with one of the store's professionals and get some help and advice.Today you are in luck because I have made the process one step easier. Below you will find four lightening show rooms in the Minneapolis area to consider visiting should you find yourself in the need of more light. They are open to the public and also sell directly to trade professionals. Ha... 06/23/2007

It's time to discuss what we Realtors do for our clients.  Why do we get paid as much as we do?  Why do our clients keep coming back to us, and send us referrals?  Answers to these questions and more after a commercial break from our sponsor.   It's not really a commercial break, just a game.  Can you see the common symbol within the logo?  We've all seen the logo thousands of times.  Raise your hand if you can see the symbol.  We play this game when we teach homebuyer workshops, during the discussion of what a Realtor does.  For those who still can't see it, it's the arrow, between the E and x. So that's what we do.  We find the arrow.  Our clients describe the logo to us, how many bedrooms, baths, neighborhood, style of home they're looking for.  We listen, for we want to meet our cli... 06/23/2007

A recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Straw Buyer deals fuel tidal wave of foreclosures", discusses a problem that has been big for over a decade.  Back in the 1990's, it was called the "Flipping Scandal".  It involves property sold at inflated prices to unsuspecting buyers In this story, a 22 year old woman was sold 10 houses in 90 days, with none of her money down, accumulating $2.4 million in debt.  Less than 18 months later, she was losing all the properties to foreclosure. Flipping became such a bad word that it seems to have dropped out of the local vocabulary.  I've seen "flipping" defined as "buying a property and then selling it at a profit in a short time period.  If you think about it, despite its negative connotation, there is nothing wrong with that. However, i... 06/22/2007

Finding holes in the line of scrimmage is what made Walter Payton the best running back in history.  Finding holes in the Buyers Market is how I hope to survive the next 5 years.There are some very hot areas in the Minneapolis market, despite the dismal news reports, and the overall market statistics.  If you know what to look for you too can find the day light and run to it.  Here is how I'm finding the hot markets.Looking carefully at the supply and demand numbers for specific prices ranges, and areas, you'll begin to see holes in the market emerge.  Seeing holes and exploiting them is the key to success for you and your clients. Take the area of Minneapolis known as Southwest, or MLS district 309.  Looking at 3 distinct price ranges, we see 3 different stories.  For the purposes of t... 06/21/2007

When driving around some of the historic neighborhoods of Minneapolis, you might notice a unique roof on some of the homes. Rolled roofs at the eave are seen mostly around the Lake of the Isle area. The style is known as Cotswold Cottage and is designed to replicate thatch. It is an expensive roof to apply to your home, as special eaves must be constructed to support the roll over the roof line. In my opinion, this roof option should only be used on a Tudor style home, however I have seen it pushed onto a newer home with French design and it didn't look to good to me. Two basic materials are used the most. 1) For a more authentic look, only cedar shakes should be used. The first home has cedar tiles and you can see by the closeup just how many tiles are placed on the roof. The pattern v... 06/20/2007

Minneapolis is a great place to descend upon Thursday during the summer. If you want fresh produce at a lower price then you will find in a grocery store (plus some organic options), then head on down to the Farmer's Markets of Minneapolis. They have everything from fresh cut flowers, flowers for potting, hanging baskets, fruit, veggies, and more! Two great locations are available, depending on your time schedule. The Lyndale location is across the highway from the International Market Square, and just west of the Basilica of St Mary. It is considered the flagship location, but the last day I was there is was less busy than the one located downtown. If you are adventurous, then travel downtown and stroll down Nicollet Mall, which has 7 blocks of vendors. Take in the city sites and get s... 06/20/2007

Replacement Housing: The Changing Face of Historic Urban NeighborhoodsThere is a trend occurring in my marketplace (Minneapolis), older homes in desirable areas are being torn down and rebuilt.  A good portion of the ageing housing stock is literally being replaced before our eyes.This change is both frightening and exciting, and it's become a political football.  Are the rest of you seeing this trend, and how are you adapting?  What's your take, is it a positive or negative for your area?The trend is both good and bad.  Opponents argue that the most affordable properties are replaced with "McMansions" only the uber rich can afford.   The neighborhood aesthetic is heavily affected as well.  Sometimes these larger new homes block their neighbors' views and sunlight.  On the other hand th... 06/18/2007

 This summer is the summer of Scandinavian in Minneapolis. What better place to experience the culture than at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.June 24 - September 2, MIA will be the only American venue to host the exhibit A Mirror of Nature : Nordic Landscape Painting 1840-1910. According to the Institute, "This exhibition explores Nordic attitudes to nature and the significance which landscape has had, and continues to have, in Nordic culture and thinking."  Other Nordic Events in the Twin Cities include:Mamma Mia!Orpheum Theater/Hennepin Theatre TrustJune 5 - 16, 2007 Saint Paul Summer Song Festival presenting music of Norwegian composer Edvard GriegThe Schubert ClubJune 6 - 17, 2007 Flashback: Norwegian Landscapes in RetrospectBell Museum of Natural HistoryJune 9 - August 12 Midsom... 06/16/2007

Recent Real Estate Statistics for the Camden area.Due to Minneapolis encompassing a large area of real estate, the local Realtor association has created 11 areas in Minneapolis in order to better organize the sale data.The Camden region is denoted by the number 301 in our multiple listing system. Following is some year-to-date (YTD) sales information.Average Sales Price : YTD the average sales price is $150,087. In 2006, it was $166,767. That is a decrease of 10%! % of Original List Price Received : currently sellers are getting 92.3% of the list price, where in 2006, sellers were receiving 95.0% or more. Average Days on the Market : it is taking 140 days for a home to sell in the Camden area New Listings vs. Closed Listings : YTD there have been 746 homes listed for sale, up 7% from 20... 06/15/2007

Minneapolis has seen an unusually high number of rental apartments converted to condominiums in the last few years. This has received considerable negative attention, since some tenants have been forced to move and some affordable rental units have been lost. But the conversions came at a time when they were desperately needed, and provided a near perfect remedy to market imbalances. A report prepared by a Minneapolis CPED intern identified 1,252 units converted from 2001 through 2005. As of the 2000 census, Minneapolis had a total of 168,624 households. The units converted amounted to less than three fourths of one percent of the households in the city. Although these are not huge numbers for a city of this size, it exceeds anything that we’ve seen before. To understand why this sudden... 06/15/2007

The Minneapolis Sculpture Gardenis a great place to spend a lazy afternoon in the summer, or visit during lunch to unwind. Nestled near downtown and across the street from the Walker Arts Center, it is the site of the now famous Spoonbridge and Cherry seen in marketing materials across the state.History of the Location:It's the place where John Philip Sousa conducted and where the Minnehaha Zoo wintered some of its animals. In 1893 it was purchased by the city as the Parade grounds for the U.S. Army Reserve drill team and also housed the Kenwood Armory. Sadly the armory sunk into the marshy ground and had to be demolished. What survived was the Armory Gardens, at least until 1966. The current gardens opened in 1988 and quickly became a popular destination.Garden Hours: Open Daily, 6 am ... 06/09/2007

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote "The Song of Hiawatha" which is where many of the nomenclatures of the East Nokomis Neighborhood come from. I learned about this while snooping around on the Nokomis Neighborhood website.  It referenced the poem, but didn't tell me much about it. You can see the original post at www.minneapolisnokomis.com.The following table references the meaning of some of the names we find in the Nokomis and Longfellow neighborhoods in South Minneapolis. Longfellow's WordMeaning according to LongfellowSource LanguageOriginal WordMeaningHiawa'thathe prophet, the teacher, son of Mudjekeewis, the West-Wind and Wenonah, daughter of NokomisOnondagaHayowent'ha(name)He who combsKeeway'dinthe Northwest wind, the Home-windOjibwaygiiwedinnorth, north windMinneha'haLaughing Wate... 06/05/2007

Recent Real Estate Statistics for Minneapolis - Calhoun areaDue to Minneapolis encompassing a large area of real estate, the local Realtor association has created 11 areas in Minneapolis in order to better organize the sale data.The Calhoun region, including Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, and Uptown is denoted by the number 300 in our multiple listing system. Following is some year-to-date (YTD) sales information.  Average Sales Price : YTD the average sales price is $318,315. In 2006, it was $425,885. That is a decrease of 25.3%! % of Original List Price Received : currently sellers are getting 95.4% of the list price, where in 2006, sellers were receiving 97% or more. Average Days on the Market : it is taking 156 days for a home to sell in the Calhoun area New Listings v... 06/04/2007

Being a REALTOR who blogs somehow seems to force me out of my shell. I've started to carry my camera with me everywhere so I can make a point to grab pictures of the amenities of my neighborhood in Minneapolis. I love the Longfellow Nokomis area. There's SO much to write about! I've driven by the Longfellow Gardens a million times and never stopped to look at them...until today. It seems there are always a million things to do and not enough time to do them in. Today I made it a point to spare 15 minutes to stop, and literally, smell the roses. What a great way to start the day. If you're selling or buying a home it's so easy to get caught up in the emotions of it all.  I encourage you to take a 15 minute break today and find a way to rejuvinate yourself. Your mind, body and spirit will... 05/31/2007

If you have nothing to do the next couple of weekends and are looking to view some local luxury home builders, then plan on attending the 7th Annual Luxury Home Tour. Available for your viewing pleasure are 22 spectacular, one-of-a-kind homes in the Twin Cities area.When : June 8-10, 15-17, 22-24 Noon-6pm Where : Blaine, Champlin, Gem Lake, Greenfield, Eden Prairie, Edina, Lake Elmo, Mahtomedi, Medina, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, Prior Lake, Wayzata Cost : Purchase Passport Tickets in advance for $20, or $25 at the homes. Each Passport allows one-time admittance into all the homes, or, you can pay $5 per home if you only plan on attending a couple showings.What to Bring : Wear socks and easily removable shoes, as you cannot wear shoes or go barefoot in the homes.No Photos allo... 05/25/2007

Best Place to get a Haircut or Enjoy a Massage south of Minneapolis When you move to a new location one of the hardest services to find is a place to get a good haircut. Or, in the case of us women, a place to get highlights, color, and more. I got lucky when I first moved to Minneapolis. Needing a cut very badly and also a highlight (my roots were showing terribly), desperation took hold and I went to a place around the corner.That place turned out to be a Godsend...Cole's Salon. As soon as you walk in, you know this is a well run establishment. Computers run the show and the receptionists know who you are it seems before you walk through the door. While prices might be a little higher than a small shop, I think what you get is worth it. Customer service is great in every aspect and th... 05/21/2007

Yeah, We Know...It's long over dueNo one else is doing itIt will be helpful to our neighbors in Longfellow and NokomisI've partnered with other REALTORS at Edina Realty that live and specialize in the Nokomis and Longfellow area of Minneapolis.  Our mission is to become the ultimate Nokomis Longfellow Resource for real estate, entertainment, and community information. It was just launched today. We hope you'll join us in this new venture!Longfellow Nokomis Real Estate Guide 05/21/2007