Is Buying a Luxury Home In Woodbury MN right for you?

There is a lot of decisions that have to be made when buying a Luxury home in the Twin Cities MN. 

1. What are the best School districts? 

2. How long of commute do you want have?

3. How close will the home be to shops and restaurants? 

4. What kind of neighborhood are we looking to live in? 

5. Are the property taxes a waste of your money? 

6. What kind of return will you see when you sell the home? 

7. How much privacy will I have if I buy this home?

And the list can go on and on... 

I have been selling Luxury Homes in Woodbury MN for the past 10 years and the area has really changed. In the beginning there was only a few luxury home neighborhoods to consider. As the downturn came more and more homes became available and less and less new construction was being built. 

Take for example Dancing Waters.  Dancing Waters was planned to be custom built homes that offered a neighborhood with amenities like a pool, park and walking paths. 

As the economy turned better, the big box builders rushed in and bought the remaining lots.  This changed the original design of the neighborhood.

The Custom Home builders have since started a few new sub-divisions but with Land being at premium and the big box builders competing it makes it tough for them to offer more neighborhood options.

With that being said there are more Luxury Home Neighborhoods outside of Woodbury.   Places like Lake Elmo, West Lakeland, Afton, Bayport offer great luxury neighborhoods. 

You will have to decide what is important to you when looking for Luxury Home because these outlining neighborhoods offer several different types of amenities than Woodbury.  Let’s do a comparison of Woodbury compared to the rest.

Woodbury Luxury Home Neighborhoods:

1.      School district for the most part is top ranked.  As of late (2016) the school district has been growing so fast that the quality schools have been getting overcrowded and the school board had to make fast decisions that may change your mind about what neighborhood to buy in due to the boundaries. There is two private schools that are highly regarded also.
2.      Close to shops and restaurants: Woodbury offers a complete list of places to shop for everything from sporting goods, clothing and furniture.  New restaurants are being opened all the time and if the selection gets old being 20 min from St. Paul is great.
3.      Luxury Homes are built close together. This allows for children to play and you to develop friendships being so close to others. You just have to get past the Minnesota nice thing. Downside is that if you buy 450k exotic car, everyone will be talking about it.
4.      City Water and sewer.  With most the outlining areas the homes are on septic and well.

Outlining areas:

1.      The biggest advantage of buying in these areas is the privacy. The homes are typically on 2 to 5 acre lots since most are on well and septic and need more room for these items.
2.      Lower taxes. Since there is less homes per acreage there is less city services.  There is a lot less police, fire departments and schools to pay for so this lowers the taxes on a home sometimes by half of what it is in Woodbury.
3.      The views. Since the homes are farther apart and there is bluffs, ponds, wooded areas it offers more to a scenic view rather than what you will get in the Woodbury area.
4.      Drive time. This is where Woodbury Luxury homes win. Most of the Luxury Neighborhoods can be 10-15 min away from shops and restaurants. Neighborhoods like Whistling Valley and Cider Bluff are still very close to Woodbury but the rest are out there. I know that sounds crazy but if you just need to go and run to get milk, it would be a 30 min plus trip.
5.      Well and Septic. I personally like well water so to me this advantage. Septic technology has gotten better and the takes don’t need to be pumped as often.  You will have to know what areas were affected by the Landfill contamination since these areas need to have deeper wells or heavy duties filters.
6.      Pools, four wheelers and outbuildings.  If you’re an individual like me, you like toys. In Woodbury and Cities you will be limited what you can build or store at your home.  The outlining areas offer more land and even trails for snowmobiling in the winter time. Want to store your 40 foot yacht, no problem in these areas. Want to ride four wheelers around your land go ahead. What to have a loud crazy pool party to 1 am, no neighbors around to say anything.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. 

Click Here to See past Luxury Home video of Woodbury MN Luxury Homes sold

Looking for Luxury Homes in Woodbury MN to buy