Ericsson lies in the northeastern quadrant of the Nokomis Community. The majority of Minnehaha Creek between the falls and the western edge of Hiawatha Golf Course meanders through the Ericsson Neighborhood. The area is close to major regional parks such as Minnehaha, Hiawatha and Nokomis. It is well-served by light rail with easy access to downtown and the mall or airport.
As is evident from the above trendline, the median home price in the neighborhood rallied to all-time highs in 2015. Prices have since retreated slightly and are now roughly back to levels seen between the second half of 2005 and the first half of 2008.
But life is all about perspective and choice. So let’s choose to use a different lens to gauge market vitality. This time, we’re using price per square foot, but not for the entire market. We’re only looking at single family, previously owned, traditional (not foreclosure or short sale) listings. When peering through this lens, values haven’t even reached their previous mid-2007 peak. Did the median sales price have you convinced not to buy in Ericsoon because prices had reached multi-year highs and were beginning to retreat? Well this might encourage some people reconsider. That’s the power of data.
Looking at a breakdown of the size of homes selling, the 1,500 square feet and under segment continues to dominate. But sales between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet reached record levels for most of 2014 and 2015. The same goes for sales between 2,000 and 2,500—sales in this segment reached all-time highs in 2014 but dwindled off in 2015 back to historical levels.
It’s a pretty similar picture when breaking down the data by bedroom count. It’s clear that 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom homes made up a larger share of sales over the last couple years.
With interest rates still historically attractive but upwardly mobile and rents rising relentlessly, can you really blame someone for wanting to finance a larger forever home?