Bet on Country Club

No More New Construction?

Buy land. They're not making it anymore.

--Mark Twain

Twain was clearly wrong about land (and real estate generally) always being a good investment; when credit is cheap and demand strong, prices can and do reach unsustainably high prices.

However, his basic insight -- look for something where supply is constrained -- is still right.

Which part of the Twin Cities housing market best fits that description today?

My candidate is new construction in Country Club, the tony Edina neighborhood just northwest of 50th & France (and east of 100).

Limited Supply

Country Club has just over 500 large, very well-built homes constructed mainly between the two World Wars.

Thanks to its historical designation, no home built there before 1944 can be torn down and replaced.

On top of that, Edina and Minnesota have enacted increasingly rigorous requirements for new construction, governing everything from setbacks and variances to maximum lot coverage (ironically, many of these restrictions were a response to go-go construction a couple years ago, and are now becoming law as the new construction tide is very much going out).

Bottom line: if you want a new(er) Country Club home . . . you're going to have to buy one that already exists.