Hi, Todd!
The data indicates that Linden Hills is feeling the pinch of the market issues much like every other area of the Twin Cities. The Average and Median Sale prices being down indicates that sellers have had to compromise their prices further, so, what a house was worth last year would be worth less this year. The stats also indicate that houses are selling for a larger percentage UNDER the list price which tells the tale of the more significant price. The good news from the current stats in Southwest Minneapolis is that there are fewer houses on the market this year than there were last year, which indicates one of two things, either sellers are not listing their houses because of the current climate and/or more of the housing inventory is slowly being absorbed (bought up) so that we will have fewer houses available for sale which will eventually even the playing field again. That evening out will take some time, however. I've heard from mortgage industry experts that we can expect another 22 months or so of this current short sale/foreclosure crisis. If you'd like the report to which I refer, e mail me and I'll be happy to send it to you, no strings attached. shofflander@buyersrealestategroup.com

Linden Hills is a sought after area and most likely is ranked 1 because of the number of people that are looking in that area. It is situated between three lakes and is one of the best places to hang out during the summer in Minneapolis. Homes normally sell fast and appreciate faster then other area's. Now would be a good time to buy in the area since prices are down. Here is the activity since Jan 1 in the area.

http://matrix.northstarmls.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=4…

I concur with my colleague. Not sure how Trulia ranks Linden Hills number 1, other than it shows quite a high average list price. The sale prices don't support those list prices, but it could depend on the property listed, too. If this is an area you are interested in, make sure you have an agent representing your best interests. All areas are having issues, but certainly less issues in the $300K-$900K and up price range.

Todd,

I don't know that this is any great indicator of value. I am not sure how Trulia calculates their popularity but I would assume that it has to do with the number of searches being done in that area in any given time period.

There could be a number of reasons for this but it may or may not be an indicator of value. There just might be a bunch of people "just looking" often in Linden Hills right now. With that said, Linden Hills, is and always will be a very popular part of Minneapolis. It is also however fairly expensive, as you can see on the chart, the average sale price of properties is nearly double that of the entire city of minneapolis for all of the time periods shown.

Please let me know if you have any more questions about this area or the city as a whole. Is this an area that you are considering?


Cameron Piper