Plymouth Minnesota New Construction Report for 2012 is Completed!

February 10, 2013
Posted by John Murphy

You don’t need a report from me to know that new construction is booming in Plymouth, MN. In fact, the northwest Plymouth area was one of the first places to really turn the corner a couple of years ago as we bottomed out in the real estate market. Growth in 2012 has only accelerated and given the continued massive investment firms such as Gonyea and Lennar are doing in the area, 2013 and 2014 should see similar activity.

In the full year report for 2012, you’ll find the following comparisons:

Wayzata vs. Osseo
Wayzata schools – finished basements vs. not finished
Osseo schools – finished basements vs. not finished
Wayzata vs. Osseo – comparison of finished basements
Wayzata vs. Osseo – comparison with no basement finishing

The first data table is found below and compares the homes built in the Wayzata School District vs. the Osseo School District in Plymouth, MN. All homes were built in either 2011 or 2012 but they closed in 2012 (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2012). The source for this data was the NorthStarMLS system – 13 County Metro. Search was performed by me, John Murphy, Prudential Lovejoy Realty on February 10, 2012.

Plymouth – All
By School District
	Wayzata	Osseo
Number of Homes Sold	129	14
Average Sold Price	$625,028	$545,046
Sold Price as % of Orig. List	99.16%	100.00%
Price per SF	$140.64	$153.64
TFSF	4249	3642
Abv. Grd.	3276	3033
Blw. Grd.	972	609
FSZ	1556	1435
BR	4.91	4.5
BA	4.69	4.29
GAR	3.04	3
Lot	0.35	0.3

If you’d like to receive the brand new 2012 Plymouth New Construction Report, please fill out the form found on the page linked.

Gonyea Homes Wins Builder of the Year 2012 from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities – BATC

October 31, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Gonyea Homes wins BATC Builder of the Year

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities announced that the winner of its Builder of the Year goes to Gonyea Homes. Congratulations to Tony Sonnen and the whole company. It’s a well deserved honor.

The Star Tribune published a brief story today and some of the highlight mentioned were:

Sales increased 112% this year compared to last year
Sales have increased by 400% compared to 2009
Staff has doubled in size

Gonyea Homes has built many homes in Spring Meadows, Taylor Creek, Prominence Woods, Prominence Creek and has broken ground on the latest development in northwest Plymouth – Terra Vista.

Toll Brothers Announces The Woods of Medina – New Luxury Homes on the Gorman Property

September 29, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Toll Brothers finally looks like it might be coming to the western suburbs in a big way. They have purchased the Gorman property in Medina, MN. It’s a highly sought after 80 acre parcel located between Wild Meadows North to the east and Foxberry Farms to the west.

The neighborhood is called The Woods of Medina and will be accessible from both Hackamore Lane to the north and County Road 116 to the west. Toll Brothers is proposing to build 125 luxury homes on the site. There is no pricing available at this time, but I would suspect we’ll see home prices in the $550,000 – $750,000 range. These homes are in the Wayzata School District.

There is a public meeting that will be held on Thursday, October 4th from 5 – 6:30pm at the Hamel Community Building located at 3200 Mill Drive in Uptown Hamel. Toll Brothers staff will be there to answer any questions.

Medina has seen two significant developments launch in the past year. Lennar has been quickly building out its neighborhood in Uptown Hamel call The Enclave. Mattamy Homes will soon be opening it’s new neighborhood located just to the south of Foxberry Farms called the Fields of Medina. Each of these neighborhoods serves a slightly different segment of new home buyers.

Toll Brothers will certainly be competing with many of the local custom home builders who will soon be starting up again in the Terra Vista neighborhood in Plymouth.

If you’d like to stay informed on this project be sure to come back and check this blog as I’ll continue to report on the progress of the new development.

Terra Vista Plymouth Development Update

September 9, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Terra Vista will be Plymouth’s newest custom home neighborhood in the spring of 2013. While the Parade of Homes has just started to close out a very strong 2012, many have already reserved their lots for the newest neighborhood in Northwest Plymouth.

The neighborhood will be similar to the very successful and popular Spring Meadows to the south of this development. Both projects have been developed by Gonyea’s land development company. Homes will be priced from the mid $500,000s but I think you can expect that most will be between $600,000 to $700,000 and in this neighborhood I think we’ll see a few more priced between $700,000 – $800,000.

Given that this is the first weekend of the fall Parade of Homes in the Twin Cities, I thought it might be helpful for those tracking the area who might not be able to get out and drive it all the time, to see some photos of the graded land. There is quite a variation in the elevation of the land from top to bottom which should add to the overall desirability of the eventual neighborhood.

Lennar’s Next Gen Arrives in Minnesota – Home within a Home Concept

September 9, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Multi-generational housing has arrived officially in the Twin Cities with the introduction of Lennar’s Next Gen home. Lennar’s concept of a “home within a home” is on display and part of the Parade of Homes that the public can come view. Located is the Bonaire neighborhood in Maple Grove, this is the first of its kind in the Twin Cities.

My wife and I had the pleasure of getting a sneak peak the other day with Bill Burgess, President of Lennar Minnesota. Bill and his team worked very hard to come up with what they believe is finally the right floor plan that works with the Minnesota climate and culture. Janet and I are big fans of the concept as we’ve seen this before having lived on the west coast for a number of years. This kind of floor plan is much more popular in warmer climes. It’s a more challenging task to produce this correctly here in Minnesota. It looks like Lennar has done it right with the Minnesota version of Lennar’s Next Gen product line.

While it makes perfect sense to have this space for multi-generational living…I think owners might want to be careful about letting their post-college grad kids move in to the suite because it is very nice and it might become extraordinarily difficult to get junior out on his own That said the space really is terrific. Janet and I could immediately see it working as a deluxe office suite of sorts for a home office on steroids. I will post pictures once they become available. When Janet and I were in there will Bill, they were still doing final touches getting ready for the Parade of Homes. The professional photos should be available in the next week or two and I will post them.

The Star Tribune did a two minute video with Bill Burgess that you can check out at Lennar’s Next Gen – Home within a Home Debut.

Lennar’s The Enclave in Medina, MN – Home Sales Booming!

September 9, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Lennar has another very successful neighborhood on its hands with The Enclave tucked away in Uptown Hamel in Medina, MN. Many people struggle trying to find this neighborhood because it’s off the beaten path, but clearly plenty of home buyers are finding it since 23 homes have been sold already! It’s a fabulous location in my opinion. You have to go to Uptown Hamel first and then head south on Hunter Drive to the neighborhood. Home prices seem to run generally in the $450,000 – $500,000 range. The Enclave is located in the Wayzata School District.

Here’s a photo gallery from earlier today.

Using Pinterest to Build Your New Construction Home

August 2, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Pinterest is the latest social media networking site and home builders and remodelers are jumping on Pinterest in a big way. I’ve been involved with a new construction build projects and lately clients are coming in with a portfolio of photos they have grabbed from Pinterest. It used to be they would come in after having torn out articles or ads from various home and design magazines.

For example, Lennar Minnesota has an excellent Pinterest page and is having lots of people re-pin its photos. I don’t think anyone at this point can specifically point to new transactions because of it but it will be an important way for builders to reach their customers and prospective customers. I believe it will be more influential on the overall relationship with new home buyers than the MLS.

If you’re a home builder, remodeler or designer, you need to build a presence on Pinterest now.

New Construction Homes 1-2-10 Year Builder Warranty

July 23, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Many have heard that there is a builder warranty that comes with your new home. That is true and it’s statutory meaning it’s written in to law. Here’s an article that does a great job of explaining the 1-2-10 Year Home Builder Warranty for new homes in Minnesota. For those who want to look up the Minnesota State Statute, please check out the link at the Office of the Revisor for the specifics on the builder warranty.

Lennar’s Enclave Neighborhood Medina, MN – Steadily Expanding – 13 Homes Sold

June 11, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

I must confess that I’m really do love the location of Lennar’s newest neighborhood in the Minneapolis northwest suburbs. The Enclave neighborhood located behind Uptown Hamel is a gorgeous, quiet setting and yet it’s not too far from civilization. (Remember, there is a Target, Starbucks and Caribou within one mile of the development ). This neighborhood is also located in the Wayzata School District.

As I was driving through this weekend, I thought I would stop and take some photos of the neighborhood as it is developing nicely. The big sign promoting the neighborhood says they have no sold 13 homes! I believe the neighborhood will eventually have slightly more than 100 homes when it is completed. If you’d like more insight on the neighborhood and what Lennar is doing in Minnesota, be sure to check out my conversation with Bill Burgess, President of Lennar Minnesota.

Hunter Lions Park Across from Lennar’s The Enclave Neighborhood in Medina (northwestplymouth.com)
Lennar Homes building 83 new homes in El Mirage (bizjournals.com)
Misc: Lennar reports 33% increase in orders, Richmond Fed survey shows slower Expansion, Consumer confidence declines (calculatedriskblog.com)
Lennar will build homes in Ave Maria (naplesnews.com)

Hunter Lions Park Across from Lennar’s The Enclave Neighborhood in Medina

June 10, 2012
Posted by John Murphy

Hunter Lions Park has been a sleepy little park in Medina located between Hamel Road and Medina Road on the west side of Hunter Drive. It is located across the street from Lennar’s newest neighborhood in the northwestern suburbs – The Enclave in Medina. Below are pictures of the park to help give you a better perspective. The park was funded in part by the Lions.

Park amenities include: