Condo buyers spend third year awaiting new units

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Once again predictions that the luxury condo market would take off as new projects open their doors remain just that — predictions. For the third year in a row, top prices have remained steady, consistent, even boring. Despite the overall real estate frenzy, new boutique developments, COVID-19 lockdowns and other factors, sales have broken the $5 million mark only once.

In 2019, before COVID-19 hit, prices for the Top 10 condo sales ranged from $1.7 million to $2.7 million. Last year’s Top 10 list of condo sales, which featured nine entries in Wayzata, had prices ranging from $1.9 million to $3.7 million.

This year’s Top 10 list featured nine sales — five in Wayzata and four in Minneapolis — priced from $2 million to $2.9 million. The list is topped by a penthouse in the Westin Galleria in Edina for $5,047,500, the highest price in three years, but even that combines two units.

David Carlson, president of Gatehouse Properties Limited, has a theory about the logjam in the condo market.

“There’s not one condo for sale in Wayzata,” he said.

Carlson sold out the 18 units in his Wayzata Blu development soon after it opened in 2020. Now he’s consulting with Minnetonka-based Lake West Development, which is proposing redeveloping the former TCF Bank building into condos. Carlson says his research showed there’s demand, if someone can generate more inventory.

Across the market, that inventory is thin, according to the Minneapolis Area Realtors. There were 834 condos on the market in November, down 26.5% from the 1,135 available in November 2020. There were 992 townhomes on the market in November, down 8.5% from the 1,085 on the market in November 2020. Home inventory showed 5,159 single-family homes available in November 2020, a number that slipped 19% by November 2021.

David Arbit, director of research for MAR, said that the pandemic encouraged some buyers to shift from condos to townhomes or single-family homes, which offer more space and privacy for the same money.

The biggest test on the horizon for the condo market is likely to come in 2022, when developers welcome residents to the 120 units in Eleven, a building where the base price is $1 million. With 80 percent of the units already reserved at undisclosed prices, market watchers won’t have long to wait for the sale closings to reveal its impact.

John T. Wanninger of WMG Partners, the marketing team behind the 43-story building, promises it will be a game-changer. The website images highlight the glamour of the units and amenities, but Wanninger said the financing and planning

“Nobody will ever do another one,” he said.

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2021 Top Condo Sales

Closed condominium sales and sales scheduled to close in 2021 in the 16-county Twin Cities metro area, based on information from the Minneapolis Area Realtors, Minnesota Department of Revenue, individual agents and brokers.

1. $5,047,500, 3209 Galleria, Edina: Three-bedroom, five-bath, 5,024-square foot penthouse in the Westin Edina Galleria, built in 2008.

Closed: 1-4-21

Listed by: Julie Trones, Re/Max Results, Eden Prairie

Sold by: Patrick Delaney, Thompson & Delaney, Coldwell Banker Realty, Minneapolis Lakes

2. $2.915 million, 935 Lake St. E. 405, Wayzata: Three-bedroom, three-bath, 3,481-square-foot unit, part of The Landing, built in 2016.

Closed: 7-27-21

Listed by: Beth Ulrich, Lakes Sotheby’s International, Wayzata

Sold by: Elizabeth Kleber, RE/MAX Results. Edina

3. $2.825 million, 630 Indian Mound St. 1A, Wayzata: Two-bedroom, three-bath, 3,200-square-foot unit, built in 1990.

Closed: 8-16-21

Listed by: Craig Kamman, Edina Realty Inc., Wayzata/Lake Minnetonka

Sold by: KC Chermak, RE/MAX Results, Wayzata

4. $2.8 million, 301 Kenwood Parkway 701, Minneapolis: Three-bedroom, four-bath, 3,925-square-foot unit, built in 2002.

Closed: 4-1-21

Listed/Sold by: Berg Larson Group, Coldwell Banker Realty, Minneapolis Lakes

5. $2.52 million, 726 Widsten Circle, Wayzata: Four-bedroom, five-bath, 5,506-square-foot unit, built in 2013.

Closed: 11-10-21

Listed by: Jeffrey Dewing, DeHaven Dewing Real Estate, Coldwell Banker Realty, Wayzata

Sold by: Karen Wind-Grotting Windsong Realty, Maple Plain

6.  $2.185 million, 700 S. Second W41, Washburn Lofts, Minneapolis: Four-bedroom, six-bath, 8,374-square-foot, built in 1914.

Closed: 8-31-21

Listed/Sold by:  Berg Larson Group, Coldwell Banker Realty, Minneapolis Lakes

7. $2.16 million, 1805 Lake St. W. #402, Minneapolis: Two-bedroom, three-bath, 3,036-square-foot unit, built in 2005.

Closed: 8-13-21

Listed by: Kevin Mullen, Lakes Sotheby’s International, Edina|Wayzata|Minneapolis

Sold by: Kevin Norwood, Edina Realty, Inc., Prior Lake/Savage

8. (tie) $2.1 million, 222 Second St. SE 1504, Minneapolis: Two-bedroom, three-bath, 3,460-square-foot unit, built in 2007.

Closed: 7-23-21

Listed/Sold by: Cynthia Froid, Keller Williams Integrity Realty, Minneapolis

8. (tie) $2.1 million, 240 Minnetonka Ave. S. 203, Wayzata: Two-bedroom, two-bath, 2,433-square-foot unit, built in 2016.

Closed: 7-29-21

Listed/Sold by: Beth Ulrich, Lakes Sotheby’s International, Edina|Wayzata|Minneapolis

10. $2,000,942, 240 Minnetonka Ave. S. 304, Wayzata: Two-bedroom, three-bath, 2,352-square-foot unit, built in 2016.

Closed: 3-26-21

Listed/Sold by: George Stickney, David Stickney, Coldwell Banker Realty, Wayzata