Mpls Future Relocation (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington: sales, apartment, rent)

[soulstriker]

Morning peeps


So I work in IT and a mix of ( Risk management/system access/compliance ) at a pretty big company which is located and HQ in Minneapolis. They have a small office here in Charlotte NC , my future plan is to relocate to their main area in a couple of years when my wife has finished her college so that we can have double income . Once we get to this point we will rent a apartment maybe for 6 months or a year while house hunting. Since it will be our first home i know our starter home may not be our dream home but im hoping i can find something decent 3BD/3Bath home considering well want another child 3BD/#bath works good for us. For a starter home what would be a reasonable price for a 3 bedroom 3 bath home, some factors would be good schools( but ive heard most schools are great in Mpls and its open enrollment which is a plus), safe area , easy access to things , etc. Our dream house would be 4BD/3Bath but once we get our equity up with our starter home we can get to that goal in the long term.


Ive been in NC for more than 10 years and im honestly sick of it , i know mpls is cold in the winter but i figured it would be a good opportunity for me , my wife and daughter.

Areas ive heard that are good are Blaine, Fridley , Mound view , Edina , Bloomington , please let me know if there is any other area u have in mind

To add more details im looking for a area where it wouldnt take me a long drive to go to events,outdoor events,parks,malls,downtown,stores, etc , so im guessing that would be urban/suburb type of area. Im more of a home body but my wife likes going out a bit more than i do and with our daughter going to events , parks, etc with her would be desired. This is also a plan in the making ( at least 4/5 yrs till i actually do this move) , i wont probably wont have to commute to the office often i may be doing a work home half the week and other half in the office so commute shouldnt be long


thanks =)

[Citykid3785]

Welcome!

As the housing market cools down for winter, I'm going to say a 1980 starter home with decent updates (4bd, 2bath, 1,700 - 2,200 sq ft) can be had for $280 - $300K in a nice suburb? You could go even cheaper if you look in some of the older suburbs with smaller houses like Richfield or Bloomington, the above numbers are just averages for what I would consider a good suburb.

Curious where you got your list of good places? I'm not saying they are bad, but places like Blaine, Fridley, and Bloomington are not often thought of as some of the better suburbs. Bloomington for instance is a tale of 2 cities, where western is nicer and eastern is worse off with only average schools. Once again, this is all relative as generally speaking we are a metro of nice suburbs and good schools.

I might look into the following suburbs:
Woodbury
Eagan
Lakeville
Apple Valley
Rosemount
Maple Grove
Plymouth
Eden Prairie
St. Louis Park (inner ring suburb)
Roseville (inner ring suburb)

i denoted inner ring suburbs as they tend to have more starter homes, older homes, and perhaps even homes with detached garages with an alleyway. On the flip side, they are closer to the city. Edina is great, but it's wealthier an not typically thought of as a starter home suburb.

I've found it's less about the cold weather, or warm weather......sometimes you just need a change from what you've had for the last 10 years. New scenery can do wonders on ones weather tolerance! Best of luck and let me know if you have any other questions!

[soulstriker]

Thanks for the fast reply these suggestions were from fellow coworkers that are in Mpls , the company I work for is a major bank so i know there big in Mpls and i think they have offices downtown and also a office in bloomington which i heard was nice. My coworkers mentioned that downtown parking was expensive hence most of them work home , maybe using public transportation downtown would work , or get a place near the bloomingston office.


Also 280-300k for a starting home is high isnt it ? But i guess since its the north and its a different house market prices would be different compared to the south. Also are condos also a good type of " starter home" to build equity? or is getting a single family home the proper path ?

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by soulstriker

Thanks for the fast reply these suggestions were from fellow coworkers that are in Mpls , the company I work for is a major bank so i know there big in Mpls and i think they have offices downtown and also a office in bloomington which i heard was nice. My coworkers mentioned that downtown parking was expensive hence most of them work home , maybe using public transportation downtown would work , or get a place near the bloomingston office.


Also 280-300k for a starting home is high isnt it ? But i guess since its the north and its a different house market prices would be different compared to the south. Also are condos also a good type of " starter home" to build equity? or is getting a single family home the proper path ?

Most suburbs have very good bus commuting direct to downtown, so no worries there. Parking seems inexpensive here? I'm guessing the average contract parking averages out to $8/day? And if you're willing to put up with surface lots, even less. Note that 90% of downtown is connected via second level skyway (so you don't have to go outside in the cold!!!).

Generally speaking, we are a somewhat expensive housing market for a non-coastal area, more expensive than Chicago even. This is partly due to our robust economy, partly due to our strict building codes that drive up cost. The well paying jobs generally more than make up for the cost. Once again, you can find a cheaper starter home with ease, I suppose this all really depends on a what one is willing to put up with. I'm sure you can find an old, completely out of date home in east bloomington for $230K if you so choose. Prices have also risen a lot in recent years, but due note if you are house hunting is January, prices will be cheaper. For reference, my wife and I bought a 4/2, 2000 sqft fully updated home in a nice suburb in 2011. We sold it for $289K one year ago.

If cost is the largest issue, I recommend considering some of the following suburbs, which are still nice, but offer older, smaller, more affordable homes:

Richfield
East Bloomington
Cottage Grove
New Hope
Oakdale
New Brighton

Don't get me wrong, you can find homes in the $200 - $250K range very easily, but they will not be updated, will be in a B class suburb, have a smaller lot, perhaps even a detached garage, etc.

I'm not an expert on the condo market, just anecdotally townhomes seem a better bet for families. When you resell, condos are always competing with like units in the same building, and seem more subject to market trends?

[old fed]

unless you're set on suburbs don't forget some parts of mpls proper would be fine

https://www.edinarealty.com/homes-fo...5410-4868360#/
as an example

it's going to be a big ask to find 3 baths in a starter home

[soulstriker]

Originally Posted by old fed

unless you're set on suburbs don't forget some parts of mpls proper would be fine

https://www.edinarealty.com/homes-fo...5410-4868360#/
as an example

it's going to be a big ask to find 3 baths in a starter home

thanks , understand completely the main reason i wanted 3 bath was we plan on having another child but of course well never know till then if its another daughter or son lol . So my wife doesnt want the kids to have to share unless its another daughter .

[Minnesota Spring]

I would say it's going to depend on where you work. If you will work Downtown, I would suggest St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Edina, and a variety of neighborhoods in Minneapolis or the western neighborhoods of St. Paul. The south and west suburbs are generally going to be more expensive than the northern burbs (in general, but not always).
Areas close to Bloomington and Downtown- again Edina, Bloomington, I would also really look into Hopkins (small town charm, but close to the heart of the metro). Also, Eden Prairie, Burnsville, Eagen are good places.
If you are into biking (I really suggest you take up biking if you are in the Twin Cities) the core Cities and western burbs seem best. You are never too far from nature- even in the City there are plenty of great parks, lakes and trails and traffic is generally not too bad on the weekends, so it's pretty easy to get anywhere in the metro with the family. The light rail is nice to.

[soulstriker]

I will def take up biking! I talked to my wife a bit more so good news is a bit more open to the 3bd 2bth so that will enable more options for us , thanks for the reply i will def continue looking up areas

[BryaninMSP]

Originally Posted by Citykid3785

Generally speaking, we are a somewhat expensive housing market for a non-coastal area, more expensive than Chicago even. This is partly due to our robust economy, partly due to our strict building codes that drive up cost.

Not sure where you're getting this. Chicago median sales price currently: $290k. Minneapolis median sales price currently: $250k.

Also, as a contractor and realtor, I think the building code's impact on the cost of construction is overstated. The Minnesota energy code gets unfairly blamed. Construction costs are regional — it's cheaper to build in warm climates than cold (usually).

For example, the 2017 RS Means residential building factor for Minneapolis is 1.06 — meaning it's 1.06 times more expensive than the national average to build in Minneapolis. This takes into account materials, labor costs and building codes. If you compare this to Austin, Texas, where the factor is 0.79, then yes, we look damn expensive. However, Milwaukee is 1.06, Madison is 1.00, Chicago is 1.24, Des Moines is 0.92, Detroit is 1.03, St. Louis is 1.04...beginning to see a trend? Minneapolis isn't an outlier, and most of our rural cities, which fall under the same building code as Minneapolis, are actually below the national average for cost.

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by BryaninMSP

Not sure where you're getting this. Chicago median sales price currently: $290k. Minneapolis median sales price currently: $250k.

Also, as a contractor and realtor, I think the building code's impact on the cost of construction is overstated. The Minnesota energy code gets unfairly blamed. Construction costs are regional — it's cheaper to build in warm climates than cold (usually).

For example, the 2017 RS Means residential building factor for Minneapolis is 1.06 — meaning it's 1.06 times more expensive than the national average to build in Minneapolis. This takes into account materials, labor costs and building codes. If you compare this to Austin, Texas, where the factor is 0.79, then yes, we look damn expensive. However, Milwaukee is 1.06, Madison is 1.00, Chicago is 1.24, Des Moines is 0.92, Detroit is 1.03, St. Louis is 1.04...beginning to see a trend? Minneapolis isn't an outlier, and most of our rural cities, which fall under the same building code as Minneapolis, are actually below the national average for cost.

Zillow's sale price records by metro:
https://www.zillow.com/research/data/