What's Selling: Hopkins

Days on Market: 12

Where: 301 13th Ave. North, near downtown Hopkins

What: 3 BR/2 Bath stucco bungalow with over 1,800 finished square feet; nicely updated.

When: listed 10/29; off market yesterday (11/10)

How much: asking $250k

Who: listing agents -- Stacy and Christina Cranbrook (Edina Realty); selling agent -- Nancy Bourland (Edina Realty)

"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

--Benjamin Franklin

The secret to this sale?

The price, location, condition, and curb appeal all helped.

But my educated guess is that the key was the "mini-Broker tour" on Nov. 2 (a week ago Tuesday).

That's when 20 agents with "Active" Hopkins listings -- myself included -- collaborated to all hold our listings open between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., complete with drawings and catered lunches at many locations.

All that publicity generated lots of traffic, which raised everyone's exposure and resulted in at least two other deals that I'm aware of.

The home is officially "Pending" until it is scheduled to close Dec. 10.

"Master" vs. "Owner's Suite"

Real Estate PC

If you haven't noticed, you seldom see a home advertised with a "Master Suite" anymore; these days, it's an "Owner's Suite."

And it's not just Realtors.

A couple years ago, the repairman working on our furnace referred to our main floor thermostat as the "master," and the satellite thermostats on the upper and lower levels as "slaves."

That's not the terminology I heard the repairman use yesterday.

Hopefully, it's still OK to "master" the art of something (cooking, painting, etc.); refer to the original as a "master" recording, etc.

"Everything is Broken"

When it Rains it Pours?

Broken lines broken strings
Broken threads broken springs
Broken idols
broken heads
People sleeping in broken beds
Ain't no use jiving
Ain't no use joking
Everything is broken.

--Bob Dylan, "Everything is Broken" lyrics

I thought the saying was that things break in groups of three.

In the Kaplan household, that was barely half a morning's worth the other day.

Three . . . Squared

The list of casualties in just the last week include:

--dead car battery
--broken garage door sensor
--broken glasses (daughter, age 6; courtesy of son, age 8)
--broken vacuum
--dead cell phone (wife)
--broken cell phone clip (husband)
--broken coat zipper (daughter)
--broken belt buckle

--clogged master bathroom sink
--broken gas fireplace mechanism

Detect a theme?

We Kaplans may not make money on all-you-can-eat buffets, but we definitely come out ahead on home warranties and AAA.

P.S.: everything I know about cars, I owe to Saab: I learned the name and function of literally dozens of parts as they broke and needed replacing.

Global Warming & the (MN) Housing Market

Minnesota: Global Warming Winner

As Minnesotans enjoy a record-warm early November, one can at least daydream about what shorter, milder winters might mean for the local housing market (local farmers can already attest to the delayed frosts and earlier thaws -- this year's first hard freeze in the Twin Cities was late October!).

Here are three foreseeable, long-term consequences:

One. Busier January's, and less seasonality generally.

Traditionally, the Spring market -- liberally defined as February - May locally -- is by far the most active time for the Twin Cities housing market.

Some of that is due to the dominance -- or at least preponderance -- of family home buyers, who like to buy in Spring, then close in Summer with enough time left over to be ready for Labor Day and the beginning of school.

However, at least some of Spring's pop is due to demand pent up by the preceding frigid weather.

Two. Higher population growth due to in-migration.

If Minnesota ever loses its reputation for bone-chilling winters, people fleeing so-called "sand states" (FL, CA, AZ) may start considering it.

Three. Fewer Minnesota "snowbirds."

The flip side of higher immigration is less emigration -- specifically, older, more affluent Minnesotans who now spend part of the year in warmer climates (and tend to move away permanently as they age).

Who wants to bake in Florida or Arizona heat when Minnesota is increasingly temperate?

P.S.: with a mean elevation of 1,200 feet, and more than 1,000 miles from the closest ocean, Minnesota isn't exactly threatened by rising sea levels.