Watch this Space: 4121 W. 28th St.

New-and-Improved in Fern Hill

The Seller (my client) moved out in July.

Guess who moved in?

Not the Buyers -- their contractors.

Six months from now, this 1937 Colonial will have undergone a top-to-bottom renovation costing well into six figures.

Take a project like this, multiply by 10 (conservatively) over the last 2-3 years, and you have the ingredients for a very healthy neighborhood.

Which Fern Hill certainly is.

On Sale: Basswood Road

Chain-Reaction "For Sale" Signs

It's one of those anomalies that you see from time to time -- and that understandably gives Buyers pause: a block where every other house seems to be for sale.

At the moment, that phenomenon seems to characterize Basswood Road, a 3 block-long street just west of Cedar Lake that straddles France Ave. (all but the very east end is in St. Louis Park; the rest is in Minneapolis).

What's going on?

I see three factors at play:

One. The "clogged pipeline" effect.

Two of the four (soon to be 5!) houses on the market were originally listed more than 18 months ago.

Rather than reduce their prices incrementally when they failed to sell, the owners have been holding their ground, literally.

While that strategy can work in a rising market, in a falling or flat market it causes a home to be "marooned," overpriced and stagnant -- and gumming up the pipeline for more recent home sellers.

Two. Functional obsolescence.

Much of the housing stock in the area consists of ramblers built in the 1950's: sturdy and solid, to be sure, but now functionally obsolete in many cases.

That often means only one hall bath for all the Bedrooms (vs. a private Master Bath); a dated, too-small Kitchen; and small and too few Bedrooms.

As I've written before, while mortgages have never been cheaper, (major) remodeling dollars are especially scarce now.

Three. Generational turnover.

Several of the Sellers have been in the neighborhood for 25-plus years.

They're now empty nesters who need less space, don't want to do maintenance, and want to travel more.

In other words, it's just time for them to sell.

Having all bought around the same time, it's natural for them to now move on at the same time.

Sizing it All Up

So, what should Buyers make of all the homes for sale on Basswood now?

And should you ever steer clear when you see too many "For Sale" signs?

My answers: "not so much," and "yes, depending."

Certainly where the explanation is rampant foreclosures, Buyers are wise to stay away: foreclosures are like an undertow that pull down the value of all nearby homes.

Ditto for unalloyed negatives like new (or wider) nearby freeways, garbage incinerators, power stations and the like.

However, when other factors are at play (the case on Basswood), and the neighborhood is in a great location with good housing stock, such temporary "Seller gluts" can be great opportunities.

What's Selling . . . Fern Hill

From Dowager to Belle of the Ball

Where: 2820 Huntington Ave. South, in St. Louis Park's Fern Hill neighborhood
What: top-to-bottom renovation of what had formerly been a 1 1/2 story home with less than 2,000 FSF
When: listed August 6; closed Sept. 20.
How (much): asking price = $859,900; sold price = $840k (purchased last Winter for $390,000).
Who: listed by Mike Sward, Edina Realty City Lakes

Talk about leap frog: what had been the dowager of this pretty block in Fern Hill is now the belle of the ball.

You name it, they did it: dramatically opened up space (see, "What do you do with dead space?"); four all new baths; a spectacular new Kitchen; a widened, 2 car garage in place of the original one car; 3 new dormers; a brand, new lower level with 1,700(!) finished square feet (and over 4,500 total in the re-done home); and a new mud room.

And on and on.

The result?

A quick sale (after about a month of market time) for virtually full price, followed by an even quicker closer (one week).

What do you do with dead space?

(Knowing When to) Open it Up

What do you with a space, like the one pictured above, that feels claustrophobic and cut off from the rest of the home?

Open it up.

So, what was once a seldom-used Den -- technically, a legal Bedroom -- is now annexed to the sweeping, new Living Room.

In place of the confining walls are handsome columns that double as structural support.

The makeover was part of a top-to-bottom, 5 month transformation at 2820 Huntington, in St. Louis Park's Fern Hill neighborhood (see, "What's Selling . . . Fern Hill").

"We-Might-as-Well" Remodeling

How Budgets Get Blown

I ran into someone at my open house last Sunday who explained how their remodeling budget doubled: as the project unfolded and the contractor(s) suggested ways to improve the original plans -- as well as correct problems that became apparent once the walls were opened up -- the owners repeatedly found themselves saying, "Might as well."

That's why remodeling veterans advise "doubling the timetable and tripling the budget" (or is it the other way around?).

On the plus side, I have never seen so many contractors hungry for work, and bidding jobs aggressively.

It's also the case that homes needing major remodeling are deeply discounted in today's market.

Bigger Isn't Better

The Rehab "White Elephant"

When isn't bigger better? (Try saying that 3 times!).

When it's a major rehab.

The dividing line seems to be about 3,000 finished square feet.

Below that, and "bringing up" a house with the proverbial good bones can be done for as "little" as $150k or so, spent strategically (Kitchen: $40k; painting, wall and floor coverings: $30k; windows, roof(?), and mechanicals: $50k; bathrooms: $25k; landscaping: $10k

However, the budget for tackling a very dated, 4,500 square foot-plus house might be easily go north of $500k.

That's a lot to pop for, at the moment. Especially if you have to pay for it out-of-pocket (vs. financing at today's cheap mortgage rates).

And it adds inventory to what is already the weakest part of the housing market locally (nationally, too).

Home Focus: 110 Kentucky No. (Lion's Park in Golden Valley)

"No Surface Left Untouched"

Where: Lion's Park neighborhood in Golden Valley (west of 100, between 394 and 55)
What: almost 2,500 totally remodeled square feet, 3 Bedrooms, 3 all new baths; great floor plan and flow
When: Broker open -- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (6/16); public open -- this Sun., 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. (6/21). Days on market: 3
How much: $439.9k
Who: listing agent - Ross Kaplan (desk: 612-925-7701)

This updated, Golden Valley two-story is perfect for the family looking for Hopkins schools, in a terrific suburban setting, or, for professionals who want to be close to the city, but need a little more elbow room (the lot is .29 acre, with a deck, fenced backyard, and old-growth trees).

Please feel free to stop by either tomorrow or Sunday!