President-Elect John Johnson opened the meeting and our own Club Chaplain, Nils, led invocation.
John Ordway is willing to arrange for a group outing to see “Six” at the Ordway in October. Let him know that you are interested!
Geoff has tickets available for the CPY golf ball drop fundraiser in August – an easy way to support a great organization and you could be a big winner!
The speaker was Kevin Miller of Edina Realty, the largest real estate company in Minnesota/Wisconsin based on sales, transactions, and number of Agents (2,300+, 60 offices, in the region). It is independently owned and operated, started in 1955 by an Edina mother who wanted to buy her daughter a piano. It was sold to Mid-America Electric in 1999, and then to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Edina Realty services include residential, commercial, investment, vacation, rental, new construction, and land transactions, and property management.
Edina Realty is a community-oriented business. The Edina Realty Foundation is funded by Agent donations and fundraisers, and gives an average of $20,000/year to community housing-related charities, such as Alexandra House, Veterans’ homes and Habitat for Humanity.
Edina Realty has a three-option guaranteed price plan: Immediate, which gives you the agreed-upon purchase price less 10% and closing costs; Quick Buy Back which allows you to buy a house before yours sells; and Lease Back.
Regarding the housing market outlook, Kevin reported more than 1,800 price reductions in the last one-week period and suggested we may have a push-down, but not a crash. There were 74,000 sales in the metro area last year. Appreciation was 8 to 10 per cent last year and he believes it will be is close to 5% this year. Kevin and John Johnson are shown below.
