A Rose By Any Other Name??

Real Estate Names With -- and Without -- Cachet

Where would you rather pop for a $2 million home: a town named "Seabreeze" -- or one named "Lump?"

Or ponder this one:

Which list of city names, "A" or "B," is more suggestive of affluence and status?

List A: Sag Harbor; Huntington Beach; Boca Raton

List B: Sack; Pile; Mound

A Boy Named "Sue"

OK, so I'm exaggerating (a little).

But if you're a non-Minnesotan reading this blog, "Mound" happens to be a real Twin Cities suburb.

One that happens to have miles of shoreline on the west side of the Twin Cities' biggest and swankiest lake, Lake Minnetonka, and is home to dozens of upper bracket (as well as more modest) homes.

So here's a marketing freebie for the next Mound City Council meeting: how about "Tonka Shores?"

P.S.: my native New Yorker wife reminds me that not everyone's association with "Mound" is negative; hers is with "Mounds" candy bars.

No More "No Name" Neighborhoods

Neighborhood Name as "Brand"

Once upon a time, people lived in St. Paul, or Minneapolis, or St. Louis Park.

Now, they live in Fern Hill, Birchwood, or Sorenson (all neighborhoods in St. Louis Park).

Overall, as Martha Stewart would say, "that's a good thing."

Especially if the neighborhood name isn't just marketing, but reflects an active neighborhood association, and a growing sense of neighborhood identity.

As a Realtor, I can attest that Buyers value -- and pay up -- for those things.

Just look at prices in Linden Hills!