By: Anne Bretts, Finance & Commerce
Posted: December 23, 2021 3:03 pm
As we prepare to bid 2020 goodbye and good riddance, there are a few areas to celebrate. One of them has been the remarkable resiliency of the housing market. Stalled for a few weeks when COVID-19 first hit last spring, sales roared back.
“The real driver was interest rates,” said John T. Wanninger of Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty. Low interest, coupled with families trying to work, play and study in the same place has encouraged buyers to buy big homes and add amenities.
Even the list of the Top 10 home sales proved a solid and familiar one, although lacking the fireworks of some years past.
The top sale, ringing in at $8.295 million, is a five-bedroom, six-bath, 8,069-square-foot custom home completed in 2018 at 20760 Linwood Road in Deephaven and boasting more than 100 feet of Lake Minnetonka waterfront. It fell just short of the $9 million home that topped the list of most expensive home sales in 2019.
The Linwood Road entry is one of eight properties on the list that touch the lake’s shoreline as it winds through the western suburbs.
The sale also is the biggest of three involving veteran Ellen DeHaven of Coldwell Banker Realty in Wayzata, who routinely dominates the list and sets the bar for luxury home sales. The total cost of just the three homes on the list that involved her comes in at $19.495 million.
Ask DeHaven for details about the lake and she knows almost every home and everyone who’s ever lived in it. Just don’t ask for details about clients, most of whom demand privacy. With more iron-clad discretion than Homeland Security, she declined comment on her current sales. You can see a sample of photos at Realtor.com.
The top sale reflects the interest in contemporary homes, but it barely edged out the $8.2 million sale of a mansion so traditional it has both a name and address. Bella Vista was built in 2012 at 3770 Northome Road in Deephaven. The five-bedroom, nine-bath 18,007-square-foot home sits on 1.8 acres and includes 195 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
There are only two homes not on Lake Minnetonka.
The $4.75 million of 4800 Bywood W. in Edina came in tied for ninth place. The sprawling four-bedroom, seven-bath, 9,038-square-foot home was built in 1953 on 1.44 acres.
The only sale on the list not in Hennepin County is the $5.25 million sale of 100 Windy Hill Road in Sunfish Lake, a four-bedroom, three-bath 3,776-square-foot home built in 1977. The property includes 40 acres of land, with 600 feet of shoreline.
The list of top sales is helpful, but the biggest new homes aren’t on it. Real estate agents and builders agree that some buyers secure a site and then hire a contractor directly.
Those houses won’t show up until the owner decides to sell to someone else. Until then, we can look at the list and dream.
Top 10 Home Sales
The top 10 home sales in Minnesota in 2019, based on data from Realtor.com, Northstar MLS and certificates of real estate value filed with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
1. $8.295 million, 20760 Linwood Road, Deephaven: Five-bedroom, six-bath, 8,069-square foot house, built in 2018 on 0.68 acres, with 107 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Closed: 11-20-20
Listed by: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Realty
Sold by: Molly Cardinal, Engel & Völkers
3770 Northome Road, Deephaven (Submitted file photo)
2.$8.2 million, 3770 Northome Road, Deephaven: Five-bedroom, nine-bath 18,007-square-foot home, built in 2012 on 1.8 acres, with 195 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Closed: 6-27-20
Listed by: Julie Regan, Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty
Sold by: Bruce Birkeland, Coldwell Banker Realty
3.$6.48 million, 312 Ferndale Road W., Wayzata: Four-bedroom, five-bath, 5,920-square-foot home, built in 1983 on 5.16 acres, including shoreline along Lake Minnetonka.
Closed: 8-20-20
Listed by: Craig Moen, Coldwell Banker Realty
Sold by: Ellen Phelps, Coldwell Banker Realty
1480 Bracketts Point, Orono (Submitted file photo)
4.$5.7 million, 1480 Bracketts Point, Orono: Seven-bedroom, seven-bath, 8,636-square-foot home, built in 1915 on 2.61 acres, with 180 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Closed: 11-3-20
Listed by: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Realty
Sold by: Brian Benson, Coldwell Banker Realty
5.$5.5 million, 430 Ferndale Road W., Wayzata: Six-bedroom, 15-bath, 18,649-square-foot, built in 2003 on 2.61 acres with 180 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Closed: 5-29-20
Listed by: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Realty
Sold by: Private buyer, no agent
6.$5.25 million, 100 Windy Hill Road, Sunfish Lake: Four-bedroom, three-bath 3,776-square-foot home, built in 1977 on 40 acres, with 600 feet of shoreline.
Closed: 11-3-20
Listed by: Brigg Backer, Keller Williams Premier Realty
Sold by: Sara Hannahan, RE/MAX Results
7. (tie)$5 million, 3125 Fox St., Orono: Six-bedroom, seven-bath, 7,959-square-foot house built in 1952 on 7.7 acres, with 338 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Closed: 2-28-20
Listed: Bonnie Velie, Velie Real Estate, Coldwell Banker Realty
Sold: Andrew Spilseth and T. Cody Turnquist, Turnquist Spilseth Real Estate Group,
Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty
7. (tie)$5 million, 2310 Huntington Point Road W., Minnetonka Beach: Six-bedroom, 10-bath, 15,137-square-foot home, built in 1994 on 1.23 acres with 239 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Closed: 10-29-20
Listed by: Lynne O’Reilly, Coldwell Banker Realty
Sold by: Erik Myhran, Coldwell Banker Realty
9. (tie)$4.75 million, 4800 Bywood W., Edina: Four-bedroom, seven-bath, 9,038 square-foot home, built in 1953 on 1.44 acres.
Closed: 10-29-20
Listed by: Barry Berg, Coldwell Banker Realty
Sold by: Erin Bailey, Wexford Real Estate
6372 Smithtown Road, Victoria (Submitted file photo)
9. (tie)$4.75 million, 6372 Smithtown Road, Victoria: Five-bedroom, five-bath, 6,897-square-foot home, build in 2018 on 0.77 acres, with 91 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Closed: 11-20-20
Listed by/Sold by: Kathy Sawicki, Coldwell Banker Realty; owner and agent, Janet Stone, Stone Design Associates and Coldwell Banker Realty