By: Anne Bretts, Finance & Commerce

Posted: December 31, 2013 at 7:05am

So you have a little money stashed away and you’re thinking about buying a new house.

For a cool $5 million you can buy a dozen new homes in many of the developments across the Twin Cities, or maybe three or four condominiums in downtown Minneapolis.

Brian C. Taylor dropped that amount on an 8,640-square-foot house at 2424 W. Lake of the Isles Parkway, making the Sept. 11 deal the most expensive residential home sale of the year, according to Northstar MLS statistics.

The price doesn’t come close to the $9.1 million sale that topped the 2012 list of top residential deals, but experts say 2013 has been a good year overall for high-end home sales.

“Going into the year we anticipated it would be a good year, and it ended up being better than we thought,” said Roger “Andy” Fazendin, who is wrapping up his term as president of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. He also is president of Wayzata-based Roger Fazendin Realtors.

“The luxury home market is very confident,” said Bonnie Velie, director of the Distinctive Homes division of Coldwell Banker Burnet. “The consumer is feeling some confidence, and most analysts are feeing relatively confident as well.”

Sales of homes priced at $1 million or more have seen strong increases since 2011, when 282 of them sold, Velie said. The total jumped to 343 in 2012, and this year sales hit 388 by Dec. 3, before a flurry of closings pushed the total to 417 by Dec. 27.

Luxury home sales still make up a small fraction of the housing market. The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has reported 49,581 sales of existing homes through the end of November.

Luxury is a relative term, of course. Earlier this year, the San Francisco Association of Realtors reported that the median sale price of a home there had hit $1 million.

The median price of existing homes in the Twin Cities is $192,000, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. Even in the Lake Minnetonka area, traditionally the most expensive part of the local market, the median price is $358,800.

Local experts say that many of the high-end buyers in the market have multiple residences and buy for investment as well as personal use. Many now are leveraging other properties to buy in cash, a move that can bring a better price and faster closing.

So what does it take to make the Top 10?

Look at the list and you’ll some familiar trends. Most of the addresses involve waterfront homes in the Lake Minnetonka area. Google the names of the buyers and sellers and you’ll find executives in many of top companies based in the Twin Cities.

And you’ll see one name involved in most of the deals.

Coldwell Banker Burnet leads the market in luxury home sales. Company veteran Bruce Birkeland, who led the list last year, takes the top spot again. The company has 64 percent of the luxury home sales in the Lake Minnetonka area this year and 40 percent of luxury sales. When it comes to homes priced at $3 million and above, that jumps to 86 percent.

The east metro has luxury homes, but more affordable prices, said Kate Beckman, president of the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors.

“We still have good affordability,” she said. “You don’t have middle income people who can’t buy a house within an hour of their work, like some parts of the country.”

The prices of condominiums rarely crack the Top 10 list, but luxury condo sales are making a comeback as well.

“There’s very strong demand for premium quality condominiums,” said John Wanninger, an agent for Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty. He pointed to several projects that have sold their last units in 2013, including the 92-unit Residences at the Westin Galleria in Edina and the 80-unit Phoenix on the River in Minneapolis.

“There’s not much existing inventory remaining, but I’m not certain it makes sense yet to develop a new project.”

Developers also are being cautious.

The key factors in luxury home sales are location, price and condition, Velie said. People in the luxury market often have multiple residences. They don’t want to buy a home and make it over to fit their tastes. They want to find a home that’s perfect and move in.

“It’s a time issue for many people,” she said.

Some homes have posted hefty sale prices but still have come in far below their listing prices. For example, the Dellwood estate of the late Dwight Opperman was listed two years ago at $12 million, but now is listed at $3.5 million.

Jeff Hornig of Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty now has an offer on the property but hasn’t disclosed the buyer or price. It’s set to kick off the new year with a closing in early January.

***

Top 10 home sales at-a-glance

West metro dominates, as usual, with only two sales coming east of the Lake Minnetonka area. The list includes homes sales in 2013 as of Dec. 27:

1. $5 million – 2424 W. Lake of the Isles Parkway, Minneapolis

Closed 9-11-13

Beds: 4, Baths: 7, Square feet: 8,460

Year built: 1930, Acres: 0.47

Buyer: Brian C. Taylor

Seller: Stephen Oesterie Trust/Adrienne Oesterie Trust

Listing/selling agent: Bruce Birkeland, Coldwell Banker Burnet

2. $4.8 million – 3610 Northome Road, Deephaven

Closed: 7-24-13

Beds: 6, Baths: 8, Square feet: 8,575

Year built: 1938, Acres: 3.86

Buyer: 3610 Northome Road LLC

Seller: Siri and Robert P. Marshal Jr.

Listing agent: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: George Stickney, Coldwell Banker Burnet

549 Harrington Road, Wayzata

3. $4.7 million – 549 Harrington Road, Wayzata

Beds: 5, Baths: 6, Square feet: 6,550

Year built: 1950, Acres: 2.87

Buyer: Tracy and Daniel Cosentino

Seller: Jay Ecklund

Listing agent: Meredith Howell, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: Lisa Pohlen, Coldwell Banker Burnet

4. $4.4 million – 559 Harrington Road, Wayzata

Closed: 7-29-13

Beds: 4, Baths: 7, Square feet: 5,652

Year built: 1988, Acres: 1.86

Buyer: 559 Harrington Road Trust

Seller: Helen K. Whitney Trust/J. Kimball Whitney Trust

Listing agent: Meredith Howell, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Burnet

5. (tie) $3.6 million – 6356 Smithtown Road, Victoria

Closed: 6-28-13

Beds: 5, Baths: 8, Square feet: 8,124

Year built: 2005 Acres: 0.8

Buyer: Stephen Kayser

Seller: Anne and Richard Baer

Listing agent: George Stickney, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: Jeff Lundquist, Homegevity

5. (tie) $3.6 million – 1625 Bohns Point Road, Orono

Closed: 11-13-13

Beds: 5, Baths: 7, Square feet: 6,774

Year built: 2003, Acres: 1.69

Buyer: Ecker Family Living Trust

Seller: R. and C. Rovick

Listing/Selling agent: Patti Jo Hermann, Edina Realty

7. $3.5 million – 5030 Meadville St., Greenwood

Closed: 9-3-13

Beds: 4, Baths: 6, Square feet: 6,180

Year built: 1996, Acres: 0.59

Buyer: William Cooper

Seller: Sheldon Wert Trust

Listing agent: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: Meredith Howell, Coldwell Banker Burnet

8. $3.495 million – 18 Doral Road, Dellwood

Closed: Pending

Beds: 7, Baths: 12, Square feet: 28,000

Year built: 1989, Acres: 15.93

Buyer: N/A

Seller: Dwight Opperman estate

Listing agent: Jeff Hornig, Lakes Sotheby’s Internal Realty

Selling agent: Wanda Hart, Coldwell Banker Burnet

9. $3.375 million – 26190 Birch Bluff Road, Shorewood

Closed: 10-10-13

Beds: 4, Baths: 6, Square feet: 8,310

Year built: 2003, Acres: 0.64

Buyer: Robin Johnson

Seller: Nancy and Calvin Nelson

Selling agent: Michael Kozel, Coldwell Banker Burnet Mark Grieger

10. $3.45 million – 20670 Linwood Road, Deephaven

Closed: 9-17-13

Beds: 4, Baths: 6, Square feet: 5,145

Year built: 1956, Acres: 2.4

Buyer: Camden Realty Holdings LLC

Seller: Rsjl LP

Liarinf agent: Ellen deHaven

Selling agent: A. J. Johnson, RE/MAX Results

Source: Northstar MLS of MN; Real estate companies, sales listings and property records