Small Town Talk

Flippist World Headquarters™ is located on this verdant street in a small town about twelve miles north-west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. When we moved in this house thirty-seven years ago it was a place that had seen better days. The one thing it did have going for it was its location—a few blocks away from the “downtown” business district. Groceries, clothing, shoes, drugs and various other shops were within walking distance.

But there were still some problems. After the Bush recession of 2008 there were many houses on my block that were in foreclosure or for sale. But over the last ten years my street has slowly upgraded. The worst houses have been torn down and replaced with nice (albeit generic) split levels. Several garages have been replaced and the utilities and sidewalks have been upgraded. After the commuter rail station was opened (a half-mile away) my sleepy little neighborhood was suddenly hot. Houses that are put up for sale are sold in days, sometimes for higher than the asking price. The 4 square mile center part of the town now has fewer than a half-dozen houses for sale—less than there were on my block at one time! The sidewalks are full of all kinds of people walking: oldsters (like me), families with kids, even teen-agers!  Diversity has even made some headway.

So now my Zillow evaluations have gone up about 15% a year for the last 7 years, as much as it had done in the previous 30. As have my property taxes.

Maybe we should sell now while the market is still sizzling.

But then we’d have to find another place to live. We'd be hard-pressed to find another situation as nice as this one.