Does your home measure up?

Average SqFt of homes that sell for $400,000…Does your home measure up?

Does your Home Measure Up?

How much square footage does your home need to sell for over $400,000 in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Lakeville, Rosemount or Farmington MN?

I’ve run the numbers and found there is a magic number for minimum square feet when it comes to selling for over $400,000.  There are other factors which strongly influence this minimum square footage number, primarily the year a home was built. To get an accurate number, I analyzed the sold homes and categorized them into two groups.  One group has homes which were a minimum of 10 years old while the second group contains homes which are a maximum of 10 years old.  So, what’s the magic number?

The average square footage of homes which sold in 2015 for more than $400,000 and which are 10+ years old was around 4000 square feet.

The average square footage of homes which sold in 2015 for more than $400,000 but are less than 10 years old was about 3600 square feet.

Here is how they broke down per city, along with the total number of sales in that category for each city.

Apple Valley Sales over $400K in 2015
Homes older than 10 years, Ave SqFt = 4080, Total #of Sales- 37Does your home measure up?
Homes newer than 1o years, Ave SqFt = 3670, Total #of Sales- 37

Burnsville Sales over $400K in 2015
Homes older than 10 years, Ave SqFt = 4111, Total #of Sales- 32
Homes newer than 1o years, Ave SqFt = 3591, Total #of Sales- 7

Eagan Sales over $400K in 2015
Homes older than 10 years, Ave SqFt = 3923, Total #of Sales- 90
Homes newer than 1o years, Ave SqFt = 3606, Total #of Sales- 41

Lakeville Sales over $400K in 2015
Homes older than 10 years, Ave SqFt = 3947, Total #of Sales- 89
Homes newer than 1o years, Ave SqFt = 3617, Total #of Sales- 143Copy of 1217 Spring Green Lane (4)

Farmington Sales over $400K in 2015
Homes older than 10 years, Ave SqFt = 4045, Total #of Sales- 6
Homes newer than 1o years, Ave SqFt = 3622, Total #of Sales- 9

Rosemount Sales over $400K in 2015
Homes older than 10 years, Ave SqFt = 3431, Total #of Sales- 26
Homes newer than 1o years, Ave SqFt = 3921, Total #of Sales- 20

There are a few interesting things in this data. First, I double checked the numbers and Apple Valley really did have 37 sales of newer homes and 37 sales of older homes, that’s not a typo. Secondly, the total number of sales in Farmington for this type of property is considerably lower than any other nearby suburb. Lakeville really does dominate the newer home sales category.

Does your home measure up?Regarding square footage data, only Rosemount had a reversal in the square footage pattern. It shows newer homes having an average square feet higher than the older homes. This really isn’t surprising since the last 10 years have seen a large number of homes built in Rosemount by National chain builders. This type of home is usually larger than average, but does not usually have higher end features or interior finishes.

Older homes in Lakeville which are trying to sell in the $400K-$550K range have been encountering stiff competition with New Construction Homes since about mid 2014. This looks like it will still be the trend for the next few years to come for sure.

This square footage taken from the MLS does not include any Garage, Deck or Patio square feet. However, keep in mind this is square footage as measured and published by Realtors. We try to be as accurate as possible, but we are not usually as detailed as appraisers. Nevertheless, the amount of data/sales in this research table and the consistency of the results do suggest the data is very accurate.

If you have a home that is more than 10 years old and you are hoping to sell it for over $400,000, be sure to measure it carefully.

Another tip, make sure all your finished square footage looks as equally valuable and equally ‘loved’ as the other square feet.  I run into this scenario a lot when doing a market analysis at someone’s house. The main level is decorated beautifully, the upper level is nicely kept, the main two levels have newer carpeting, and modern things on the wall, along with well-maintained furniture.

However, the lower level has often become the burial ground for the old furniture, the wall hangings are 15+years old, paint colors are out of date, carpet is older, etc.. You get the picture. The way I like to explain is…we are presenting to a buyer a home with 4000 square feet and if we want to get average of $120/square foot, we need to make sure that each square foot shows/feels as valuable as the next.

Finally, the jury is still out on how the upcoming decade of younger buyers will view these very large homes. There is a trend towards more ‘right-sizing’ by younger buyers. They are concerned about energy costs, carbon footprints, housework upkeep, home maintenance costs and overall not taking on a bigger home than they can afford.

One thing is for sure, getting a super-sized home ready to sell is not easy.  For more information, be sure to read some of my other blog posts including:

Am I Ready to Downsize? 4 Questions to Ask.

Updating a Super-Sized Home, What do Buyer’s Expect?

Am I Ready for Townhome Living.  5 Things to Consider.

If you have any questions, please let me know, I’m always happy to help. You can give me a call at 612-889-6496 or send an email to [email protected].

Read what Sheryl’s clients are saying about working with her and the Selling South of the River team!

Get a Virtual Price Opinion from Sheryl!

 

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