Hot Housing Market Spans All Homes

From starter homes to million dollar properties, the housing market in the Twin Cities continues to be very competitive. Expect to make a quick offer on an ideal starter home. This weekend you can also tour Artisan Homes.

Starter homes are hot sellers

The Twin Cities housing market is strong and homes are selling quickly. That’s especially true for so-called starter homes priced under $250,000 dollars.  Local realtors don’t see that changing anytime soon.

“We have a housing issue here, not just with buying homes, but rentals as well. And as long as we have a lot more people looking for housing than housing is available, I believe that the market will stay strong,” said Realtor Jerry Moscowitz. “It’s difficult to find homes in the northwest suburbs under $200,000 thousand dollars.”

Of the lower priced homes that are on the market, buyers will likely have to compromise and make cosmetic changes such as putting in new carpet or a new coat of paint.

Moscowitz said if you do find a starter home on the market, be aggressive if it’s something you truly like.

He says starter homes in Crystal, Robbinsdale and New Hope go for about $225,000 dollars and in Maple Grove, it’s around $275,000 dollars.

But it’s not just starter homes that are in demand. More people are also buying homes worth a million dollars or more.

Million Plus Dollar Homes

The Hennepin County Assessor’s Office says, in Plymouth in 2016, there were 115 homes worth over a million dollars. But that number jumped to 140 last year. That’s a 22 percent increase.

A Plymouth home featured on the Artisan Home Tour has a lot of elegant features. As soon as you walk through the front entrance, you’re greeted with dramatic vaulted ceilings. Six thousand square feet of opulence, open concept, six bedrooms and five bathrooms are just the starters. Steve Bohl with Bohland Homes says high end clients expect top architectural designs and custom products.

“The cabinetry in a home like this is over $100,000 dollars and its true craftsmanship,” Bohland said.

Downstairs is perfect for entertaining. A large, custom bar, wine cellar and first-of-its-kind automated wine dispenser are on the lower level. The area also includes a 360-degree media center, boxing gym and barre studio, plus three more bedrooms.  The builder divided a sitting room and billiards room with a unique feature.

“To accommodate a TV look in both rooms, we have a swivel here so if over playing billiards you can watch t-v or if you’re sitting and relaxing, you can also view television,” Bohland said.

And of course, the kitchen is a huge selling point, with stunning walnut cabinetry and an Italian custom range, which cost over $15,000 dollars.

While people expect to see marble and upgraded appliances in a million dollar home, its things you can’t see that will cause a ding to your wallet.

We’re talking about insulation. It isn’t just used to manage cooling and heating, but also noise. This home has insulation between interior walls and between interior spaces.

“There are special areas around your rim joints and your plumbing and those areas if you insulate them with a foam insulation, it’s a lot, more expensive,” explained Bohland.

But with a home like this, you’re paying for location and a view of a private lake. A huge wraparound deck features a dining area, outdoor kitchen and bar, fireplace, and a second story patio atop the porch allows folks to soak in all the views.

You can check out more exclusive homes on the artisan tour, which runs through Sunday June 24th.