Suppose your St. Cloud home is an oddball? It may be a terrific residence, but there’s no denying that it just doesn’t fit in very well with the feel of the neighborhood. In St. Cloud, we have a reasonably eclectic mix of architectural styles, so it’s unusual to come across a house that stands apart as decidedly out of place.

If your own St. Cloud home is one of those oddball properties, when it comes to selling it, that might not necessarily be such a bad thing. At least that’s the verdict reached by reporter Katy McLaughlin after she was assigned by the Wall Street Journal to investigate the fate of unique homes in today’s market. Are they harder or easier to sell? Do they bring premium prices—or discounts?

A less than stellar example is the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired mansion that awaits a buyer in the Savannah, Georgia neighborhood. Buyers in California or Arizona would probably leap on the 6,595 square-foot home, but in its current neighborhood, buyers are nearly unanimous in preferring “Gone With the Wind” style homes.

Builders are familiar with the social pressure that can result when they try to construct homes with a design too far afield from the neighborhood norm. One builder got pushback “even from friends” when he agreed to design a chateau-style home in his Santa Fe neighborhood.

Despite such headwinds, it turns out that selling results can be mixed. It may take longer to sell an outlier, but the final selling prince can reward patience. By definition, such properties defy classification—but one way to predict their selling performance is to identify them by the adjectives used in their listings. These are some Zillow-tallied results:

“unusual” – 3 days longer on market than comparable properties

“unique” — 7.5 days longer

“quirky” — 11 days faster!

“avant-garde”— 24 days longer

Interestingly, the homes described as “unique” brought a 1.6% price premium over the comps. Such a varied array of results go to show that whether you are selling your St. Cloud home that’s a nice fit for the neighborhood, or a quirky standout that could draw tour buses, the marketing should be aimed at an accurate depiction (with the possible exception of ‘avant-garde’). Every property has a buyer or buyers who will appreciate it—the trick is attracting their attention. If it’s time to sell your own home, I hope you’ll give me a chance to demonstrate!

Providing a superior level of informed, professional real estate services to buyers and sellers throughout Central Minnesota. We have agents specializing in residential, commercial, multifamily, new construction, existing, investment properties, foreclosures/REO, and short sales with offices located in:

Five Office Locations To Serve YOU!

Saint Cloud 320-259-4554
Princeton 320-983-3555
Maple Grove 763-565-2000
Hutchinson 320-455-9127
Litchfield 320-298-1140

Premier Real Estate specializes MANY areas around Central MN including Saint Cloud, Waite Park, Rice, Royalton, Sartell, Royalton, Little Falls, Cold Spring, Saint Joseph, Elk River, Monticello, Ramsey, Saint Michael, Andover, Ham Lake, Anoka, Champlin, Buffalo, Glencoe, Brownton, Silver Lake, Kandiyohi, Dassel, Minneapolis, Maple Grove, Saint Louis Park, Saint Paul, Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Brooklyn Center and more!