The Lakes, Blaine, MN - Blog

Water Abounds At The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota

travis.sabby@results.net — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Water Abounds At The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota

The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota

Posted on: 3 Jan 2013

Here's a little bit about 'the lakes' at The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota. Beautiful homes right on the water are plentiful in this master planned community in Blaine, MN. The 158 acres of water in the development include ponds and lakes that are fully interconnected. These waterways are navigable, and they wind their way through the community.

Overall, almost one and a half miles of shoreline is publicly accessible. Recreational opportunities abound, and the interconnected nature of the waterways serves to bring people together. Fishing right from the shore can yield panfish and even an occasional walleye. Fishing by boat out on Sunrise Lake is capable of producing near trophy-size northerns, bass, and walleyes. Ice fishing offers big fish opportunity in the winter as well. Swimming, sailing, and boating will fill many a summer day. Water visually connects the various neighborhoods of The Lakes of Blaine. A sense of openness is complemented by memorable sunsets throughout the seasons.

Open space abounds in the areas surrounding The Lakes as well. To the east and southeast of the community, the City of Blaine maintains a wide swath of open space. Just to the southwest, the rolling hills of the championship TPC golf course unfold. Bordering The Lakes immediately to the south is North Oaks West, which further expands the vistas thanks to the large lots that comprise that prestigious community. And a little further to the south is the open space that comprises the Anoka County/Blaine Airport.

As a result, residents of the 1000+ acre development experience the best of two worlds -- expansive open areas guaranteed to stay that way. and quick and easy access to all of the cultural and other amenities of the Twin Cites, just 20 minutes to the south.

Travis Sabby

Blaine, Minnesota, 2012 Citizen survey results are in: It's a great place to live!

travis.sabby@results.net — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Blaine, Minnesota, 2012 Citizen survey results are in: It's a great place to live!

What the survey does...

The August 2012 Blaine, Minnesota, citizen survey is a way for residents to show their satisfaction with three aspects of community life: (1) quality of life in the city, (2) the community’s amenities, and (3) satisfaction with local government. As a “consumer report card” for this small (about 60,000 population) Twin Cities suburb, the survey gathered community feedback on what is working well and what is not. Things are working very well indeed.

NRC gives heft and depth to results.

This was the first year that Blaine officials used the services of the NRC (National Research Center, Inc.), which maintains a nationwide database of community survey data and uses that database for comparison with local findings. The 138-page survey results show comparisons with both communities around the nation as well as Minnesota.

And the survey says…

Blaine, Minnesota residents recorded positive opinions about life in this community. When compared to other cities surveyed, every survey area received high marks. In 53 of 83 comparisons, Blaine’s ratings were “above” or “much above” other U.S. communities. In 41 of 81 items rated, Blaine was similarly highly rated.

Asked to rate the overall quality of life in Blaine, 88% of the respondents rated the community good to excellent with only about 12% "fair." This overall rating was above the national benchmark and similar to most communities in Minnesota.

Some detailed highlights:

(1) Overall quality of life in Blaine, Minnesota: (Percentages are respondents who marked “excellent” or “good.”)

As a place to live: 93%
As a place to raise children: 88%
Neighborhood as a place to live: 85%
As a place to work: 66%
As a place to retire: 64%

(2) Community Performance

Fire services: 96%
Garbage collection: 90%
Recycling: 89%
Quality of new development: 85%
City cleanliness: 81%
Lowest rated was traffic signal timing: 43%

(3) Satisfaction with local government. Much above the national and Minnesota benchmarks were community responses rating overall quality of city services in Blaine:

Good: 64%
Excellent: 23%
Fair: 13%
Poor: 1%

Satisfaction with city employee performance:

Responsiveness/follow up: 85%
Waiting time for service: 85%
Overall impression: 88%
Courtesy: 89%
Knowledge: 90%

Looking for a nice home in a great community like Blaine, Minnesota? contact us for the best Twin Cities area real estate help.

Travis Sabby 612.600.6000 or Travis@Sabby.com

Enjoy the Lifestyle at The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota

travis.sabby@results.net — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Enjoy the Lifestyle at The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota
The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota

If you’re looking for a serene community surrounded by nature and open space, be sure to take a look at The Lakes of Blaine, Minnesota.

Incorporating trails, greenways, and several interconnected bodies of water, this master planned residential community consists of 1,080 acres within the city of Blaine, a rapidly developing suburb just north of Minneapolis.

At The Lakes you can escape into nature while remaining close to schools, shops and everything else you need. With easy access to freeways you can be in Minneapolis or St. Paul within 15 to 25 minutes. And if you’re a golfer, just to the west of the development is the Arnold Palmer PGA Tournament Players Golf Course.

So, if you live in The Lakes you can easily get to just about anywhere you want. However, chances are you’ll mostly want to stay close to home and enjoy the lifestyle this community offers. Over a third of the acreage is made up of parks and open space, including lakes, trails, and waterways, a 22-acre neighborhood park, and a 68-acre park to the east, adjacent to the city's open spaces.

The 1.4 miles of publicly accessible shoreline includes a beach area at the central lake that is connected to the various neighborhoods by a regional trail. The civic park and beach area features concession facilities for boat rentals, a splash pad area and changing facilities. The many lakes, ponds and bays in the community are interconnected by navigable waterways.

All of this development has taken place with an eye toward preserving the existing natural features of the land, such as the oak woodlands and the wetlands in the open space.

To learn more about life in The Lakes and the homes currently available in this outstanding community, contact us.

Cautious Optimism During The Spring Parade of Homes 2012

travis.sabby@results.net — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Most realtors that worked the Parade of Homes this Spring will tell you that traffic was off the charts. The models in The Lakes of Blaine saw traffic counts similar to the boom years of late 2004 and 2005. During a typical weekend, numbers of Parade goers would easily reach into the hundreds. That is crazy traffic. In The Lakes of Blaine / Radisson, Gorham Companies sold four properties which according to Gary Gorham, was an excellent Spring Preview.

Analyzing the traffic and the types of buyers that were out looking, we saw a return to the market for the baby boomers. This was a segment of society that was really hurt by the recent recession. Since the recession's onslaught in late 2005, most boomers had either locked up what was left of their money in Fort Knox, or thought more about downsizing. In The Lakes of Blaine, these boomers were out in full force. This go around, the boomers were much more realistic, and downsizing meant that they wanted less house for much less money.

In The Lakes, most buyers remained very cautious, but there was optimism in the air. People were pleased to see that the market seemed to be rallying, and that confidence had returned to the builders. The weather was fabulous, and the timing of the Spring Parade of Homes was excellent this year. Yet, as much as the traffic was excellent this Spring, the buyers are still very cautious.

The bottom line is that interest rates remain at historic lows and housing prices are at a ten year bottom. Model traffic counts are way up and people have a real interest in new construction. Real estate is on sale people! In ten years, people will either look back and say, "Wow, did we get a deal?", or they will say "Wow, I should have, could have, would have!"

Travis Sabby- Re/Max Results