Southwest Suburbs

Coldwell Banker Burnet has announced yesterday that it is acquiring Coon Rapids-based Coldwell Banker Acclaim, an independently owned and operated Coldwell Banker® affiliate company. The company will become Coldwell Banker Burnet. The Coldwell Banker Burnet Northtown office will join the Coldwell...

The Maple Grove City Council voted last week to limit townhouses built on low and high density land.  Currently about 59% of all units built were townhomes but under the new plan that will change to about 42%.  The Council was concerned that the city was ending up with too many townhomes compared...

I read an interesting article today called Pump'd: The hidden cost of expensive energy in the StarTribune by Suan E Peterson.  Builder Bruce Nedegaard shares some of his observations about how this market has been effecting many local builder.Permits are down 27% from last year and a 44% drop in ...

As I was driving yesterday I heard a news report that Hennepin County foreclosures are up 71% from last year.  It is affecting all price points from starter homes to multi-million dollar estates. Ramsey county is very close to the same percentage.There are a mix of things contributing to this inc...

We love our waterfront property here in Minnesota.  Many developments have been created around storm sewer run off ponds and marketed as "lake living".   Now with our hot and dry weather many of these ponds have dried up leaving behind harmful bacteria and awful smells.  How would you feel if you...

Just what is the difference between being pre-qualified and pre-approvedBeing pre-qualification is an estimate of what a buyer can afford based on income and debt provided by the buyer but not necessarily verified. Pre-approval involves an in-depth review of a buyer’s finances. A credit check is ...

 Did you know that Minnesota has more golfers per capita than any other state?  How could that be?  After all we have this image of being a cold, snow covered wasteland.  How could we possible play golf let alone have 480 golf course?Here's a website that you can use to match your skills and pref...

 Summer is in full swing and if you still need to find a place to stay during your summer vacation then check out  these websites for lodging around Minnesota.  There is so much to see and do: 10,000+ lakes, waterfalls, the North Shore, Boundary Waters, State Parks, Mall of America, Mississippi R...

There are some things in the real estate marketplace that a home seller has control of, but let's take a look at some of the things they don't.  There are three categories of  property ownership that compete with the owner-occupied home for sale. They are foreclosures or bank-owned, investor-owne...

Here are a few of the road construction projects going on in our area.  Frive safely and plan on delays as you head out of town for the cabin up north.Hwy 610 in Maple Grove between Hwy 169 & 494 (5 Miles).  Hwy 610 will be a new freeway between Hwy 252 in Brooklyn Park and I-94 in Maple Grove. C...