New Homes in AppleVally/Rosemount (St. Paul, Bloomington: low income, sale, 2009)

[Propel9]

Hi

We are planning to buy our first home and are looking for a new single family home in AppleVally and Rosemount.

We have visited homes by few builders (Ryland in Cobblestone, Cintex in Rosemount, Lennar in Rosemount, DrHorton on Dodd Blvd(Close to 157th street bus transit station on Pilotknob) etc.

Finally we liked the Rylands one in Cobblestone because of it's nice locatlity, good construction and proximity to school/Target/Cub etc.
It is around 2600 SFT for about $370K.

We also liked one house by Cintex in Rosemount (Connemara trl & Azaleon intersection). It is around 2900 SFT for about $340K.

I would like to know advantages/disadvantages between these two locations given the area/SFT/Price combinations. We are unable to decide between these two. We are also confused if this is a good time to buy or wait for few more months.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

[golfgal]

I live in that area and are very familiar with the area. Cobblestone is a lovely community, convenient location, many families with kids there. The part of Cobblestone where you looked is going to be next to a low income housing project slated to start in the spring--take that for what it is worth.

The Centex area you mentioned is near the railroad tracks so there will be noise from that if that is an issue. It is also an area with a lot of families with kids.

The Centex development is more cookie cutterish but it is a popular area. The yards are generally larger then those in Cobblestone if that makes a difference.

The schools are the same-different elementary and middle schools but the quality is equal. They both go to Rosemount High School. You would be closer to the schools living in the Centex development then in Cobblestone and you are closer to downtown Rosemount, the library, etc. in the Centex area. You will also notice less traffic in the Centex area vs the Cobblestone area.

For me it would come down to where you work. If you need to get to the Bloomington area, the Cobblestone area is slightly more convenient. If you are more on the St. Paul side of town for work, the Centex development is easier.

[Propel9]

Thanks for the response. It definitely cleared few of our questions, we being new to this area.

What do you think about the appreciation of these two homes in future. Say 5 to 10 years.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by Propel9

Thanks for the response. It definitely cleared few of our questions, we being new to this area.

What do you think about the appreciation of these two homes in future. Say 5 to 10 years.

Very difficult to predict. Much depends on when things turn around again.

I would have conservative outlook. Buy the house because you need a place to live, not as in investment. Historically, buy as much house as you can was the rule. Not sure that is holding true at the moment.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Propel9

Thanks for the response. It definitely cleared few of our questions, we being new to this area.

What do you think about the appreciation of these two homes in future. Say 5 to 10 years.

I would agree with Clifford-hard to predict. I would say that given the proposed future development in Rosemount the Centex home would be the better option vs the development planned in Apple Valley at this time.

Personally for 300 more sq feet and $30K less, go with the Centex home. The Cobblestone area is NOT worth that much more.

[ET_MTB]

I would be worried about the depreciating housing prices. I don't think these areas have been fully impacted yet. I agree with Clifford. Buy the house as a place to live and not as an investment. I'm not sure if our economy will ever return to the way things were so you may never be able to make profit on the house when it is time to sell.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by ET_MTB

I would be worried about the depreciating housing prices. I don't think these areas have been fully impacted yet. I agree with Clifford. Buy the house as a place to live and not as an investment. I'm not sure if our economy will ever return to the way things were so you may never be able to make profit on the house when it is time to sell.

Ok, I disagree with this. No, you won't see the huge gains in under 5 years that we saw not too long ago but the market is returning to normal and a home has always been a LONG term investment, we have just had an unusual housing market the past 10 years or so. I seriously doubt in 20 years you won't see significant gains in value on your home.

[WannaBeinBoston]

Propel, you can't go wrong with either location but here's some food for thought. The Ryland homes in Cobblestone, to Golfgal's point, is considered the low entry point for single family. While I think there is always room to negotiate...you're the buyer, and it's a buyer's market....I don't see pricing falling much further. Those Rylands continue to be fairly popular, much more so than the Centex homes were in the development. Centex has quite a number of lots left in the development and they can be had for song if you wanted go build with them.

The Cobblestone development is convenient to Target and other commercial areas on CR42. I'm uncertain of this but given that there is more commercial and industrial properties in Apple Valley, the city's tax rates may be lower than Rosemount. Overall, Dakota County's rates are good for the metro.

Proximity to the lake/park, etc. is nice but it depends on whether you will use those amenities for the additional cost. Also, I suspect that there is HOA dues as well, so weigh that in your decision points.

Good luck.

[Slig]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Ok, I disagree with this. but the market is returning to normal

I appreciate the optimism but has there been any evidence that the housing market is returning to normal? The most recent news I've heard is that the foreclosures won't be slowing down in 2009.

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

Propel, you can't go wrong with either location but here's some food for thought. The Ryland homes in Cobblestone, to Golfgal's point, is considered the low entry point for single family. While I think there is always room to negotiate...you're the buyer, and it's a buyer's market....I don't see pricing falling much further. Those Rylands continue to be fairly popular, much more so than the Centex homes were in the development. Centex has quite a number of lots left in the development and they can be had for song if you wanted go build with them.

The Cobblestone development is convenient to Target and other commercial areas on CR42. I'm uncertain of this but given that there is more commercial and industrial properties in Apple Valley, the city's tax rates may be lower than Rosemount. Overall, Dakota County's rates are good for the metro.

Proximity to the lake/park, etc. is nice but it depends on whether you will use those amenities for the additional cost. Also, I suspect that there is HOA dues as well, so weigh that in your decision points.

Good luck.

Great point on on building new. We built in another area in 2008. We got a discount on the lot and the house as well. I would say we paid in total about 15 percent less that comaparble homes built in 2006 and 2005.

If you are still looking at buying existing, it makes sense to go look at sale history and compare. If somebody built in 2005 and prices have dropped 15 percent, it is very possible the seller cannot get out of that without taking a loss, therefore making a new home cheaper to build. Could also be a tool for negotiation. Worth the effort to make sure you get the best price you can.