Significant Sale in Southwest New Construction Real Estate Market

Here is a significant home sale that just closed. If you are following new construction in St. Louis Park, Southwest Minneapolis, or Edina, this home represents a great value and sets something of a benchmark. This new construction home just sold for $683,000 with with 5 bed, 4 bath and 3,352 total finished sq. ft. (2,288 above ground). It is located St. Louis Park, Browndale Neighborhood, and sits right across the street from Browndale Park. I've toured this home and thought it was a very nice home. It lacks much of the detail found in more expensive homes but, given the price point that should be expected.

See the Home's Public MLS Sales Info

Most importantly I think this home represents the "best of" in "value class" new construction. The lot (and original home) was purchased for $238,500 and the new home was listed for $680,000 yielding $441,500 for construction costs, Realtor fees and builder profits. That's a tight margin by any stretch and sets an important new data point in this market.

As for the home itself, I give it high praise for;

1) It's location, in a rapidly evolving historic urban neighborhood where new construction and large remodels are filling in the old homes. There are a ton of other areas like this but the hot spots come and go quickly as you drive around blocks.

2) It's use of space on the small lot. The lot is just 0.18 acres, and the builder managed to get a nice home onto a small lot, opening potential for redevelopment other small lots.

3) The features and amenities are all there. Open floor plan, above ground laundry, nice master suite, etc...

On a sour note, I though this home also featured some suburban architectural elements, which put me off, and finished too much of the lower level which I prefer to use as storage, workshop etc.

The new construction real estate market in St. Louis Park, Southwest Minneapolis, or Edina is alive and well in this economy and has great upside potential. There are long term investment strategies in rental property that follow and exploit re-development patterns. There are, of course, short term strategies too, as this home represents.

In either case there are market fundamentals to follow when re-developing an old neighborhood. Adding the right features into a home that looks and feels appropriate to the area is one challenge the other is knowing where to buy and how much to pay.

Kudos to the smart builder and buyers of this well designed tear down and new build!