If you have wondered why walking the grounds of Noerenberg Memorial Gardens feel so tranquil and peaceful, it may be helpful to know that the care and generosity cultivated on this land started over one hundred years ago. Among the first settlers on Lake Minnetonka, Frederick Noerenberg, the founder of the Grain Belt Brewery, built his family estate on this site overlooking Crystal Bay in 1890 and named it Wilkommen.
English in design, the Queen Anne inspired home was set on 73 acres and nearly 8,500 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline. Alongside the staff of 17, the meticulously manicured tiered rose beds and groomed grasses were maintained by Noerenberg and his wife, Johanna. The northern part of the original Gilded Age estate included a gentlemen’s farm. The livestock raised here went to supply the family as well as area establishments. The estate was doted upon for years by the Noerenberg’s daughter, Lora Noerenberg Hoppe. Hoppe lived in the home until her death in 1972. She was 85. The family’s wish was to raze the home and dedicate the garden...
Above is a recap, as we head into the fall market and the Parade of Homes tour here, on the number of real buyers who purchased homes in our Lake Minnetonka luxury real estate market over the past 12 months. Luxury home market is broken into 8 prices ranges on the chart that total the 178 luxury home buyers over the past 12 months. 178 buyers equates to a 17% drop year over year ending September 1st. Factors that hampered the market included the prolonged extremely cold winter and record breaking rainfall 2nd quarter rainfall. With the slow start to 2014 the market was never able to rebound. The hardest hit price range was the 1.5M-1.75M which experienced a drastic 54% drop in buyer activity. On the other side of the coin, the 1M-1.25M price range provided a slight but positive 3% increase of real buyers. Not featured on the chart was a 5% increase in median sales price and a 17% decrease in days on Lake Minnetonka luxury market year over year. For additional information on the Lake Minnetonka market, real time pricing trends and more click on ...