As the sounds around the University of Minnesota campus transition from construction equipment to the anxious clamor of students there is no shortage of activity around the Prospect Park neighborhood on the eastern edge of Minneapolis. Adding to that is the reopening of West River Parkway after a June 2014 landslide closed the parkway for over two years. Motorists, cyclists and walkers—really anyone attempting to move around the area—reveled in the reopened corridor
Prospect Park also features a variety of delightful properties. Homes in the community tend to be of a fairly high caliber, and prices in the neighborhood exceed those in the surrounding city by approximately 38.0 percent. Also noteworthy is the fact that Minneapolis home prices appreciated 4.7 percent over the last year compared to 24.0 percent price change in Prospect Park.
Inventory levels have been thin across the metro area, particularly at the affordable, entry-level price points in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In Prospect Park—perhaps due in part to light rail—there also seems to be a divergence between single family and townhouse-condo inventory. It seems as though townhomes and condominiums are making up a larger and growing share of the overall inventory pie, as they did from 2007 to 2009.
Those shopping for homes in this area can expect to pay about $190 per foot. So a 1,700 square foot home would cost approximately $323,000. But it’s important to understand that market dynamics vary not just by location by also by price point. A family shopping for a 1,400 square foot home in Prospect Park can expect to pay $211 per foot, while a family shopping for a 2,800 square foot home in the same neighborhood can expect to pay about $135 per foot.