The Skinny

Lessons from the RREAR Pt. II

We pick up here where we left off, with the second part of our new series: Lessons from the RREAR, where we dig deeper into the data found in our Annual Residential Real Estate Activity Report.

Today's subject: Square Footage.

Despite a consistent decline in the number of residents per household each year thanks to an aging population and relatively lower birth rates, the average square footage of Twin Cities homes continued its inexorable rise upwards in 2007. As newer, larger homes are added to the pipeline and existing homes are refurbished and expanded over time, the overall size of our homes gradually increases, seemingly into infinity.

This is either fantastic or horrible news, depending on whether or not you're generally in favor of second amusement rooms in the basement for antique billiard tables and pinball machines.

Entirely-too-subtle jabs at suburban consumerism aside, what this all means is that every year we seem to have more square footage per person than ever before. So relax and truly enjoy that extra beanbag chair or Barcalounger with no shame.

Below are the Top 20 areas in the Twin Cities for Average Finished Square Footage for closed sales in 2007. This is where you can really sterch out into that 7th bedroom. Not coincidentally, some of these are also the higher-priced communities in the region:

Code	Area	Avg. Sq. Footage
605	Sunfish Lake	5,120
368	Hennepin-Northwest	2,929
398	Victoria	2,927
381	Lake Minnetonka	2,733
604	Mendota/Lilydale/Mendota Heights	2,595
392	Eden Prairie	2,569
396	Chanhassen	2,541
707	Ham Lake	2,519
642	Prior Lake	2,413
385	Edina	2,389
626	Lakeville	2,318
367	Hennepin-North	2,317
762	Andover	2,301
727	Stillwater/Bayport	2,288
365	Maple Grove/Osseo	2,283
644	Savage	2,244
374	Plymouth	2,234
726	Woodbury	2,216
721	Lakeland/Afton/Denmark	2,206
706	North Central Suburban	2,198

And here are the Bottom 20 areas. Not surprisingly, you'll notice regions here that either a) have a high preponderance of condominiums and/or b) have a relatively older housing stock and/or c) are located in the two center cities or first-ring suburbs.

Code	Area	Avg. Sq. Footage
741	SP – Downtown/Capital Heights	1,089
302	Mpls – Central	1,307
308	Mpls – Powderhorn	1,310
742	SP – Central	1,322
310	Mpls – University	1,333
307	Mpls – Phillips	1,347
301	Mpls – Camden	1,351
303	Mpls – Longfellow	1,360
738	SP – Home Croft/W 7Th	1,377
306	Mpls – Northeast	1,386
746	SP – St. Anthony/Midway	1,421
716	SP – Hillcrest/Hazel Park/Daytons Bluff	1,430
728	SP – Riverview/Cherokee	1,442
386	Hopkins	1,457
379	Bloomington-East	1,462
305	Mpls – North	1,469
714	SP – Phalen	1,504
304	Mpls – Nokomis	1,514
600	West St. Paul	1,516

For a look at the geographic boundaries of these MLS areas, visit here. And stay tuned in the weeks ahead for more Lessons from the RREAR.

Lessons from the RREAR Pt. I

If you're at all a fan of our Annual Residential Real Estate Activity Report (aka "The RREAR") that's released in February of each year, then you're likely a fan of the detailed, micro-level, neighborhood-based data it provides. Square footage, days on market, sales prices, percent new construcion vs. previously-owned...the list goes on and on -- and it's provided for every MLS area we can possibly fit in the damn thing.

All of this is to say that the amount of information contained in the 16 page report each year is both a) highly useful and b) difficult to sift through in its entirety without losing your mind. Constrained by the boundaries of the PDF format we're forced to simply dump all the data out to you in a grid of colums and rows, with no regard given to ordering the data or highlighting some trends to note.

We're gonna try to rectify this problem by harnessing the power and magic of the blog to dig into the numbers a little further. So let this mark the official beginning of the first post in an ongoing series: Lessons from The RREAR.

Today's subject: Price Per Square Foot.

While an imperfect science, Price Per Square Foot (PPSF) is in essence an attempt to control for the sometimes volatile data variable of home size and equate the value of the home to a simple financial question: how much house do I get for my money? PPSF varies significantly from house to house and is affected by a variety of factors—location, the type and age of the home, structural and cosmetic condition and much more.

Statistically, the Average PPSF by community in the Twin Cities varies greatly from place to place and is affected by all the same factors above, just on a broader geographic scale than a single home.

Below are the Top 20 Areas in the Twin Cities for Average Price Per Square Foot in 2007:

District	Area	PPSF
302	Mpls – Central	$244
605	Sunfish Lake	$237
300	Mpls – Calhoun-Isles	$230
381	Lake Minnetonka	$217
310	Mpls – University	$206
740	SP – Crocus Hill	$205
741	SP – Downtown/Capital Heights	$202
309	Mpls – Southwest	$200
750	SP – Mac/Groveland/River Road Area	$192
385	Edina	$191
752	SP – Highland Area	$182
748	SP – Town & Country/Merriam Park	$175
303	Mpls – Longfellow	$169
604	Mendota/Lilydale/Mendota Heights	$166
368	Hennepin-Northwest	$166
391	Saint Louis Park	$164
618	Eastern Dakota County	$163
721	Lakeland/Afton/Denmark	$163
304	Mpls – Nokomis	$162

And here are the Bottom 20 Areas in Price Per Square Foot in the Twin Cities. These are the spots you could get the most house for your money in 2007:

District	Area	PPSF
305	Mpls – North	$71
370	Sibley County	$90
343	Mcleod County	$92
342	Hutchinson	$97
301	Mpls – Camden	$99
742	SP – Central	$100
660	Goodhue County	$103
714	SP – Phalen	$106
658	Le Sueur County	$107
363	Brooklyn Center	$111
716	SP – Hillcrest/Hazel Park/Daytons Bluff	$114
720	SP – Southeast St. Paul	$116
783	Cambridge	$118
632	Rice County	$119
364	Brooklyn Park	$119
756	Elk River	$120
767	Coon Rapids	$121
769	Anoka	$121
630	Northfield	$121
612	Burnsville	$121

For a look at the geographic boundaries of these MLS areas, visit here. And stay tuned in the weeks ahead for more Lessons from the RREAR.