By: Anne Bretts, Finance & Commerce

Posted: December 28, 2012

There’s no doubt the local and national housing markets are beginning to recover.

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has reported nine consecutive months of year-over-year overall price gains. The 3,843 home sales that closed in November marked a 20 percent increase from November 2011.

Luxury homes are seeing similar gains.

“We’re running 20 percent ahead of the pace in 2011,” said Linda Blyth, director of the Distinctive Homes Group of Coldwell Banker Burnet, based in the company’s Wayzata office.

Through October, 301 homes above $1 million sold compared with 250 at the same point in 2011 and 245 in 2010.

So, what were the priciest deals of the year? Finance & Commerce has compiled the Top 10 residential real estate sales, based on public records and real estate industry information as of Dec. 4.

This year, a $4.8 million sale in Edina topped the list and the Lake Minnetonka area was home to six of the top 10.

A $3.5 million sale in Eden Prairie made the list at No. 5. A $2.85 million sale in North Oaks, which ranked as the top sale in Ramsey County, hit our list at No. 8.

Luxury home agents and their bosses are happy to talk about sales in general, but don’t ask them about particular deals.

John Wanninger of Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty in Edina represented both sides in the top transaction, the $4.8 million sale of an estate at 5224 Schaefer Road in Edina. Retired venture capitalist Howard Weiner and his wife, Joanne, sold their 8.6-acre estate to an entity identified only as “Monroe Trust Dated September 5 2012,” the same date as the closing.

Wanninger had the top sale, but you won’t hear him bragging.

“I literally cannot say a word,” he said.

Wanninger is among a relatively small group of agents who thrive in the luxury home market, in part because they protect the privacy of their clients. For example, Wanninger refused to identify the buyer in the top sale. He even refused to confirm that he was the listing agent, although the listing was on his company’s website.

“I have golf buddies who want to know and I haven’t told them,” he said of the buyer’s identity.

A small percentage of buyers and sellers set up limited partnerships or limited liability corporations, registered to their attorneys’ offices, Wanninger said.

Others are high-profile executives who are used to the spotlight. Bill Cooper, head of Wayzata-based TCF Bank, used his name when he sold his home at 75 Clay Cliffe Drive in Tonka Bay for $3.527 million.

Then there are luxury home buyers who keep a low profile here and make their flashy home purchases in resort areas, Wanninger said.

While most local luxury home sales can be tracked on the Multiple Listing Service agents use to share property information, some private sales have closed without notice.

Other transactions weren’t traditional sales. A $4.4 million sale of a home at 555 Bushaway Road in Wayzata in November proved to be a restructuring of the ownership among family members.

While the west metro dominated the top property list, North Oaks in Ramsey County is getting some notice from high-end buyers. Pat McGrath of Coldwell Banker Burnet, who has been working in the area since 1986, wasn’t surprised that his sale in North Oaks made the list.

“If you’re an upper bracket buyer and you want to live on the St. Paul side of the market, there aren’t a lot of choices,” he said. North Oaks is developing a reputation as an established community with quality properties and good resale values, he said.

So, what high-profile properties didn’t sell this year? Earlier this year Finance & Commerce compiled a list of the top homes on the market. Only one of those top listings has found a buyer.

It was a foreclosure.

The home, at 1655 Bohns Point Road, was 10th on the tally of most expensive listings, with a price of $5.49 million. The $4.4 million sale earned it second place on the list of top sales.

The other properties lingering on the market require even deeper pockets. Their prices range from $5.99 million for a cozy 17,000-square-foot cottage at 501 Bushaway Road in Wayzata to $24 million for the perennial chart-topper, the former Pillsbury family summer home at 1400 Bracketts Point Road in Orono.

Finding a pattern in the top 10 sales is a challenge. Some were on the market more than a year, while one sold in a day. Some had big price reductions; others sold for nearly their full asking prices.

None compared with the top sale in 2011.

In October of last year, cosmetics and skin care mogul Horst Rechelbacher stunned the market when he paid $6.95 million for three unfinished units making up the top two floors of Phoenix on the River, an 80-unit condominium project on the Mississippi River’s east bank. The units total 18,172 square feet and if finished, the listing prices would total just under $10.5 million.

Agents and brokers aren’t predicting what the top sales list might look like next year. But they expect sales figures to continue improving.

“A lot of buyers are taking their foot off the brake pedal,” said Wanninger. “It’s looking like we’re going to have a very robust year in 2013.”

Top 10 Residential Sales in 2012

1. 5224 Schaefer Road, Edina

Sales price: $4.8 million

List price: $5.9 million

Days on the market: 141

Buyer: Monroe Trust Dated Sept. 5, 2012

Seller: Howard and Joanne Weiner

Closing date: 9-5-12

Listing/Selling agent: John Wanninger, Lake’s Sotheby’s International Realty

2.1655 Bohns Point Road, Orono

Sales price: $4.4 million

List price: $5.499 million

Days on market: 422

Buyer: Ronald and Susan Otten

Seller: TCF National Bank (former owners Graydon and Michelle Newman)

Closing date: 11-1-12

Listing/Selling agent: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Burnet

3. 75 Clay Cliffe Drive, Tonka Bay

Sales price: $3.527 million

List price: $3.95 million

Days on market: 98

Buyer: Benjamin Fowke III

Seller: William Cooper

Closing date: 7-18-12

Listing agent: Meredith Howell, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: Kathleen M. Seydow-Weber, Coldwell Banker Burnet

4. 1520 Bohns Point Road, Orono

Sales price: $3.45 million

List price: $3.95 million

Days on market: 63

Buyer: Thomas Abood

Seller: Mary M. Scovanner Trust

Closing date: 7-9-12

Listing/Selling agent: Debbie McNally, Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty

5. 18506 Bearpath Trail, Eden Prairie

Sales price: $3.05 million

List price: $3.05 million

Days on market: 1

Closing date: 9-20-12

Buyer: Joel A. Stead Trust

Seller: Jsa LLC

Listing agent: Brian Monette, RE/MAX Results

Selling agent: Margo Higley, RE/MAX Results

6. (tie) 510 Ferndale Road W., Wayzata

Sales price: $3.5 million

List price: $3.65 million

Days on market: 312

Buyer: Lorie Halvorson

Seller: William and Kathleen Wanner

Closing date: 10-1-12

Listing agent: Meredith Howell, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: Ellen DeHaven, Coldwell Banker Burnet

6. 1582 Homestead Trail, Medina

Sales price: $3 million

List price: $3.495 million

Days on market: 265

Buyer: Jude and Hannah Buckley

Seller: David A. Koch Trust

Closing date: 2-24-12

Listing agent: Nancy Curry, Roger Fazendin Realtors Inc.

Selling agent: Steve Albers, RE/MAX Results

8. 2 Blue Flag Court, North Oaks

Sales price: $2.85 million

List price: $3.45 million

Days on market: 47

Buyer: James and Mary Kowalski

Seller: Robert and Jenifer Peterson

Closing date: 9-17-12

Listing/Selling agent: Patrick J. McGrath, Coldwell Banker Burnet

9. (tie) 1200 Old Crystal Bay Road, Orono

Sales price: $2.8 million

List price: $4.295 million

Days on market: 239

Closing date: 2-22-12

Buyer: William Bigley

Seller: Kelly and Dean Leischow

Listing/Selling agent: Debbie McNally, Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty

9. 2542 Crosby Road, Wayzata

Sales price: $2.8 million

List price: $2.95 million

Days on market: 101

Buyer: Steven and Keri Nelson

Seller: Keith and Janet Benson

Closing date: 10-1-12

Listing agent: Brian Benson, Coldwell Banker Burnet

Selling agent: Jeffrey Hornig, Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty