MEDICINE LAKE, Minn. – Real estate prices continue to rise in Minnesota, but are strongly localized.
Minnesota has two new “million dollar cities” where average home prices are now in the seven figures.
Steve Lovell has lived in Medicine Lake for 25 years.
“It’s a nice, quiet area and the fact that the lake is close by is a bonus,” Lovell said.
We asked him to guess what the average home value is in his community.
“It’s probably up to $700,000, $800,000, I guess,” he said.
Lovell was quite surprised to learn that the average in Medicine Lake is now just over $1 million, making it a new member of Zillow’s list of million-dollar cities.
Paul Larson, a veteran real estate agent with Caldwell Banker Realty, isn’t surprised.
“Ten minutes from the Twins stadium here, 15-20 minutes to the airport. And yet you have a dock on the lake, west-facing sunsets, good fishing, good swimming here, great location,” Larson said.
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Medicine Lake and Orono are among the cities of Minnetonka Beach, Woodland, Greenwood and Sunfish Lake with average values in the seven figures – a large concentration in the western metro area.
Zillow reports that Medicine Lake’s median home value is $1,071,119, while Orono’s is $1,043,372.
Larson says it comes down to low inventories, suburban demand and the strength and diversity of our local economy.
“In the Twin Cities, the work ethic and the jobs here are so great that we have some immunity to the national economic woes that might occur,” he said.
Larson hopes his new $1.5 million listing in Medicine Lake will sell within 30 days.
About a third of real estate transactions in the metro now take place in cash. Deep-pocketed buyers who may have previously turned to financing when interest rates were ultra-low are now paying cash, making it harder for mortgage buyers looking to move up.
