We currently have 102 current home listings in the Como Park area alone with 24 homes pending.  Since the begining of July there has been a total of 26 total homes sold in the Como Park area.  The Como Park area real estate market still remains strong.  Please review the stats below for detailed information on the real estate market for the Como Park area. To view active homes in Como Park click here  Status: Active Como Park Homes (102)   Como Park Homes List Price: $0 - $100,000 (3)     List Price DOM CDOM Sale Price Beds Baths Year Built Taxes Total FSF Price per TFSF FSZ Min $45,000 6 6 - 2.00 2.00 1900 $1,524 1,346 33.43 744 Max $92,500 26 26 - 4.00 2.00 1951 $9,584 2,384 38.83 1,848 Avg $71,617 12.7 12.7 - 3.33 2.00 1920 $4,467 1,907 37.00 1,123 Sum $214,850     -       $13,400  ... 08/05/2008

The housing market report is out for the month of July.  According to mplsrealtor.com we have seen a -4.3% drop in inventory from July 2007 to July 2008.  We are also currently seeing an inventory of 11 months worth of homes for sale on the market (buyers market).    Click here to view full report 08/04/2008

Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival - Como Park Zoo Posted by Shawn Hartmann under For Buyers, For Sellers, Regional News, Como Park Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival The Como Park Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival is Sunday,August 17, 2008.Gates open at 3:00pm ~ Entertainment begins at 3:30pmLantern lighting will begin at duskFree shuttle bus service from Midway Stadium starting at 2:30pm Admission is $5.00 for adult, $3.00 for children   Taiko drums, martial arts, Ikebana, sushi and other aspects of Japanese culture, will be featured at the annual Como Park Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival,  a  family-friendly event, reminiscent of Japan's annual Obon holiday, on Sunday, August 17, 2008 on the grounds of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Como Park. Obon is an important Japanese ... 08/01/2008

On August 03, 2008 at 13:00 PM, you are invited to an Open House at 1017 Chatsworth St N in St. Paul/Como Park. If you are looking for a Single-family property in this area, don't miss this rare opportunity to visit this magnificent property. For a preview of this Single-family property, check out my site at http://www.hartmanneam.com. Please do not hesitate to Contact Me if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private showing. 07/31/2008

Here in St. Paul we have many large and small city parks. I am finding wildflowers in them and started taking pictures of them. I ended up with so many pictures that I started a Minnesota wildflower blog.  When I find pictures of flowers online often they are not labeled, or if they are they are labeled with the wrong name or simply called "yellow flower".  I ended up buying a book about local wildflowers so that I can identify more of them. I found some resources on the Internet for identifying flowers and included links in the sidebar of my blog. The Minnesota wildflower blog is just a way of publishing and labeling the photos.  I noticed that it started getting traffic from google immediately.  The traffic is coming from people like me who are trying to identify flowers. The blog is ... 07/30/2008

 Visit Bandana Square in Saint PaulMy son loves trains. Loves them. Anytime he sees Thomas the Train, he gets really excited and just has to grab it. If we are driving and see a train, we must stop, roll the windows down, so he can see and hear it. If he sees train tracks, we have to drive over them very slowly so he can feel the bumps. Of course, we love to oblige him because it is just too cute. Now our second son has caught the craze and yells out "TRAIN" anytime he sees one.If you need to get your train fix, then travel to St Paul and visit Bandana Square. It is an old train station used at the turn of the century, and is currently used mostly for offices and a Best Western Hotel. The complex is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The Children's Museum was located here a f... 07/29/2008

Rumors are bouncing off the wall right now about the demise of the project.  I've been waiting for this "big announcement" for about three months now and nothing.  Now the rumor mill is full of "the plug has been pulled" variants. So, I strolled down to the sales center hoping to get the scoop.  Instead, a hand written note on the door... "Sales Center is Temporarily Closed"  Also, the place is starting to look a little run down - it almost looks abandoned. If the rumors are true, it's a sad day for Saint Paul real estate.  During the boom of the 2001-2006, Saint Paul was not able to add a single new-construction high rise.  Minneapolis on the other hand added more than I care to admit. The truly sad part about this is we will likely get another ugly State office complex on the site ins... 06/23/2008

I've been looking at the condo market in this area of St. Paul.  In all honesty I was quite surprised to find that in fact there is VERY GOOD a market for $500-700k condos with 2000 fin. sq. ft. The area in green shown below is what these numbers are based on.  As you'll see it includes portions Ramsey Hill, Crocus Hill, Downtown, and Upper Landing these are all home to higher end condo's, new and old.  Specifically excluded are parts of Summit Avenue, Highland, Mac/Groveland which have high end condos, but are not in "downtown" and are not comps in my opinion.  I think this area represents a far more realistic picture of the market is for the Armstrong Quinlan Mansion, than if the numbers were based upon an MLS district or two.  The condo market in St. Paul was hit early by the turn in... 06/23/2008

Most cities have zoo's.  I don't go very often but last week my neice and nephew were visiting so I took them to como park zoo just for the heck of it. I can't remember what it is they were fighting about but it seemed like they had a good time, but they did get on aunties last nerves when they started arguing about who started arguing. I guess my kids did that too.   We have a very nice Zoo  and this summer there is a wonderful butterfly exhibit.  I am going to go back alone as soon as I get the chance and take more pictures. Want to see more of St. Paul, MN? visit my photo albums on the St. Paul Real Estate Blog. 06/18/2008

Although I normally wouldn't blog about events outside of St. Paul, I just HAD to tell everyone about this upcoming event.  Besides, it's only 3 blocks outside of St. Paul...The famous Witches Hat in Prospect Park Minneapolis will be open for tours Friday night.  It's only open one day per year for public tours.  Afterwards there is an ice cream social that sounds like a ton of fun.  They'll have food, ice cream, a band, fun activities for kids (fish pond, moonwalk, etc), plant sale, etc.  Go to http://www.pperr.org/events/icecream-social.html for more information.  06/05/2008

There are alot of folks out there who hear "the East side of St. Paul" and they immediately think of some of its less than desireable neighborhoods.  I am not one of them.  I grew up in the Twin Cites and have lived here most of my life.  I lived for 8 years in Milwaukee WI, and the East Side of St. Paul reminds me alot of Milwaukee, WI. You will find very distinct neigborhoods, and dining spots that are locally owned, not chains, and have all kinds of ethnic type foods.  Little place and big places. I have been over the last 2 months showing a first time buyer and his boss many houses on the East Side, looking for what could be called "fixer-uppers," actually, Bank-owned property.  There are alot to look at.  I especially like the values East of Johnson Parkway running North and South.... 06/04/2008

This weeks highlighted historic home is located at 476 Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Built between 1883-1885, the home was designed by Clarence Johnston for Chauncey Griggs. As you can tell, it is surrounded by large trees, making it very difficult to get a good shot of the home. It is built in the Richardson Romanesque style, a very popular style at the time, at a cost of $35,000.Returning to St. Paul after fighting in the Civil War, Griggs established a coal and lumber business with James J. Hill, then with R. W. Johnson, and finally with Addison G. Foster. His neighbor at 490 Summit Avenue, Mr. Foster, also had his home designed by Clarence Johnston. Early photographs were taken of the home around 1888, and a very famous one from 1895 because of the children in the forefront, giving a ... 05/19/2008

No one likes the government telling them how their home should look, but when it comes to historic homes, many neighbors applaud when the government intervenes. For decades, historic areas have been establishing committees to be watch dogs of historic districts. Here in Minnesota, they are called Historic Preservation Commissions. In other states they are called Architectural Review Boards.In Florida, where we renovated a 110 year old Queen Anne Victorian, we had to go up in front of a tribunal called the Architectural Review Board. Let's just say, if the home is historic, than any renovations have to keep in the spirit of the home. They are ten times more strict than any commission here in the Twin Cities. Take for instance the 22 original wood windows in the home. Here in the Twin Cit... 05/19/2008

A street easily overlooked in Saint Paul is Irvine Avenue. It is located "below" Summit Avenue, and you can look up to see the back sides of the most expensive historic homes on Summit. A few great finds are some of the remaining carriage houses of these massive homes.. Some have been saved and converted to single family residences or condo units, but others, like the fantastic ruins pictured above are slowing decaying away.This old carriage house sits behind 332 Summit Avenue...you can see what it used to look like, as of 1950, from this photo. It is a protected historic structure so any future plan to restore or demolish the building would have to meet Preservation Committee approval. 05/19/2008

I know I complain during the winter about being cold and having to show houes when it is "I can't stand it" below zero, but there are many reasons why I love living in St. Paul, and spring is one of those reasons.In the spring the grass turns green again and people come out and walk or ride along the bike paths.  I get to see my neighbors again.  The shipping seasons has started so I can hear the boat horns again too. In the spring the tables and umbrellas come back outside.  We like to eat outside.People plant flowers every where. I grow flowers every where.  These are the tulips in front of my house.   The trees are getting leaves on them and everything looks wonderful.  I guess the landmark center always looks wonderful.  05/07/2008

This weeks feature is not of a home, but of a historic building called Woodland Terrace in St. Paul.Located on Dayton Avenue, the row house was built in 1889, supposedly by B.J. Buechner. They were renovated in the 1980s and updated with new mechanicals, etc. The building really is amazing once you get a closer look. The patterned brickwork and small stone carvings throughout, including the arched entry ways, really make the building "pop". At first glance, the buildings look Richardson Romanesque because of the stone work, but when you look at the gables, balcony design, windows, and roof line, Queen Anne Victorian screams out at you.There is currently one unit for sale through Coldwell Banker for $645,000. To give you an idea on size, the four level unit has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and ... 05/04/2008

This weeks Historic Home is 265 Summit Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Built in 1885 for $10,000, the home was designed by C.W. Mould for John Robertson. Designed as a simple Queen Anne Victorian, it has a brick exterior and limestone foundation. You cannot see it from my photo, but there is a tower on the right side of the home. The top of the tower is closed in, but at one time was an open balcony with spectacular views of Summit Avenue and the surrounding homes.With about 5500 square feet, the home has three stories, and if you know anything about the third stories of these historic homes, then you know they have amazing ceiling heights. The home has only had about five owners during its long life, and the last owners have been stewards for over 40 years. There are original Tiffany ... 04/30/2008

Quiet down along the river.  Too early in the season for those wonderful moon light cruises.The Ordway is packed. There is a Minnesota Wild game going on at the Xcel center and a large roof top tail gate party on the parking ramp. The local bars in and around downtown are packed. Fun to walk around on a Saturday night and take pictures. Now that the weather is warmer the streets are full of activity again.   04/19/2008

This weeks historic home in St Paul is 301 Summit Avenue.Built in 1905 by George Gardner at a price of $28,000 this Georgian Revival home was designed by Thomas Holyoke. Holyoke was the chief draftsman for the infamous architect Cass Gilbert on the state capital building and also built five homes on Summit Avenue. Another home was originally built on this site in 1882 in the Queen Anne style, but it was moved around the corner to 107 Farrington in 1903.The home has changed very little since construction. I was able to find a photo of the home as it appeared in 1948, before it became a German cultural center. The original owner, Mr. Gardner, lived in the house up until 1946 when the St. Paul Priory took possession. It wasn't until 1966 when the current owners bought the home for $60,000... 04/19/2008

St. Paul Cathedral, St. Paul, Minnesota.  I never get tired of photographing this building, both inside and out.  Built in 1905, Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, a French architect trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, was selected to design what we know today as the fourth Cathedral of Saint Paul.  The church is made of Granite stone from St. Cloud, MNThe Cathedral's most prominent feature is a 120-foot-wide dome made of curved steel beams, covered with a clay tile surface and overlaid with copper. A copper-clad lantern, approximately 30 feet tall, sits on top of the dome. From the base to the very top of the lantern, the Cathedral stands 306 feet tall.I am working on getting some more pictures of the interior.  They don't allow tripods so it has been tough to get good shots in low l... 03/27/2008