Hopkins Homes Sell Faster Than Those in the Metro

Following a national trend, Hopkins’ housing market slowed last year. Still, houses here sell faster than they do in the greater metro area. Thus far in 2007, homes in Hopkins have averaged 127 days on the market. Homes in the entire Twin Cities market have averaged 142 days. “Housing still goes rather quickly in Hopkins,” City Manager Rick Getschow said. “We always seem to have a little bit stronger housing market than other areas.” The city’s central location and downtown area contribute to the trend, he said.

City Council members in their July 17 meeting learned more about the city’s housing market from Nate Stulc, residential appraisers from the Hennepin County Assessor’s Office.

“The real estate market is very circular,” he said. “Now we’re seeing a lot of evening out of the market. It’s nothing to be alarmed at yet.”

By state law, an assessor must assess 20 percent of a city each year for re-evaluation. Stulc explained that because the market went through an especially strong period four to five years ago, the five-year-low last year reflected the market’s balancing itself out.

Still, the market’s recovery could taker longer than many people would like, said Deb Greene, president of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR).“The gradual decline in home sales has been continuous since late 2005 and isn’t’ showing signs of letting up,” she said in a market update report the organization released last month. “Predicting exactly when that will change is an inexact science, but it’s becoming clear that our eventual recovery could be a multi-year adventure.”

Stulc reported that sales of single-family homes in Hopkins increased about 2 percent in 2006 – similar to most metro-area inner-ring suburbs. In 2005, Hopkins’ home sales rose 6.2 percent. “It’s really indicative of the trend,” he said. “It reflects upon what we’re seeing in sales and it has slowed down quite a bit.”

Condo and townhouse sales were flat last year. In 2005, condo sales increased 1.9 percent; townhouse sales increased 2.4 percent. Double bungalow increased 4.5 percent, compared to a 5.9 percent increase in 2005. Hopkins houses this year sell at an average of $190,883- down 5.4 percent, according to the MAAR report. The metro area on the whole saw an average sales price of $270,485- down 0.9 percent.

The Beard Group, developer of the Marketplace & Main condo project in downtown Hopkins, recently opened its sales office to take reservations on units. Owner Bill Beard said it has been reserving on average two per week. “We know the market is in a soft period, but we’ve been very please,” “If we continue along that pace, we’ll be very satisfied.”

Like Getschow, he said amenities like a walkable downtown attract buyers. “What we really have to offer is downtown Hopkins,” Beard said. “We look at our success so far and attribute it to the attractive community.”

The Hennepin County Assessors Office took on Hopkins as a new client in 2004, so it assessed the entire city over 3 years to gain as much information as possible to make accurate assessments. In 2005, it assessed all the city’s townhouse, condos, and double bungalows. In 2006, it assessed the neighborhoods of Interlachen, Bellgrove, Knollwood, Drillane, Hobby Acres and Campbell. In 2007, it assessed the rest of Hopkins’ single-family homes. From 2008 on, the assessor will appraise at the required 20 percent each year. This year’s assessment report determines the city’s taxes payable for 2008.