Richard McDonough - Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty

10/16/2026

Your best listing photo is right outside your window.

Fall color in the valley peaks for just a few weeks. Since spring listings typically go live before the trees fill in, a home surrounded by crimson maples and golden oaks stands apart from the same house photographed against bare April branches.

My Luxury Plus Listing Program lets you book fall exterior and aerial photography now, so your home can hit the market in spring looking exactly as it does today.

Because shoots hinge on weather and foliage, openings go quickly. Message me or call (612) 819-3518 to reserve your date.

10/15/2026

“How’s the market?” Here’s the short answer for Stillwater 55082.

The Market Action Index sits at 43 this week, down slightly from 44 last month and well off the 50s we saw in May and June. Anything over 30 favors sellers, so it’s still a seller’s market, just a cooling one. Inventory is up, demand is softer, and prices are starting to ease.

What does that mean for you? Sellers who price right and present well are still in a strong position. Buyers are gaining a little more room to negotiate and breathe.

Curious what 43 looks like for your home or your search? Message me or call (612) 819-3518.

10/13/2026

Picture that first dinner at a new table, with the decorations going up in rooms you chose yourself. If you're a buyer in St. Croix Valley hoping for that this season, it's a reasonable goal, and the question is what it would take. One detail that's easy to overlook is the holiday sale on furniture. Opening new credit or financing a big purchase during the mortgage process can affect your application, since lenders typically review your credit again before closing, so the sectional may need to wait.

We cover that, plus how to keep your timeline flexible, in the blog.

Hoping to be in a new home by the holidays? See what to consider before buying in St. Croix Valley, from financing and budgets to travel plans.

10/13/2026

What a week we have had! The Stillwater market is shifting again, with 16 new listings and 5 Coming Soon properties this week. The median list price is $750,000 and the Market Action Index slipped to 43, still a slight

seller's advantage but cooling.

It's also MEA weekend and the fall color should be peaking. Here's the DNR Fall Color Finder if you're heading out:https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fall_colors/index.html

Thinking about a spring sale? It's not too late to book a fall color exterior photo shoot. Call or text (612) 819-3518.

Read my full analysis: https://www.richardmcdonough.com/blog/stillwater-mn-housing-market-october-11-2026

10/09/2026

The last best window of 2026 is open right now — and it's measured in weeks, not months.

Here's the math as it stands: serious Q4 buyers are active, the delisting wave is about to hand remaining sellers the thinnest competition of the year, and spring 2027 is already shaping up more crowded, not less. For prepared

Valley homes — especially in the upper bracket — this stretch between now and Thanksgiving is quietly one of the strongest seller windows of the year.

Two ways to use it: the public way — a properly launched listing into scarce competition. Or the private way — a Quiet Listing Network conversation that risks nothing if the number isn't right.

Either path starts in the same place: thirty minutes, your real number, my honest recommendation. 612-819-3518.

Four generations says I'll still be here whatever you decide — but the window won't.☕

10/08/2026

Four markets in one ZIP code.

In Stillwater this week, homes around $615,000 are the fastest movers at a median of 28 days. The $900,000 and $1.9 million tiers are both at 77 days. Homes under $400,000 sit at 56.

Upper-tier homes taking longer is normal here, and in the St. Croix Valley it's usually about the product as much as the price: acreage, river frontage and architecture all narrow the buyer pool. That's where preparation and presentation earn their keep.

Which tier is your home in? Message me for a private Equity & Strategy Review.

10/08/2026

Behind the Sale, No. 7 — except this one hasn't happened yet. It's yours.

Every sale I've shared this season had the same skeleton: a clear read of live data, honest preparation, a price set to THIS market, and marketing that reached far past the Valley for the ceiling buyer. None of it was magic. All of it was decided months before a sign went up.

So here's the practical truth as 2026 closes: the sellers who win next year are making their moves NOW — the equity review, the walkthrough, the pre-inspection, the quiet-market conversation. By the time spring headlines arrive, the outcome is mostly already written.

Whether your chapter turns this winter, next spring, or years from now: begin with the honest number and the honest plan.
That part costs nothing.
612-819-3518 — let's write yours properly.

10/08/2026

Giant pumpkins are coming back to the riverfront. 🎃

Harvest Fest returns to Lowell Park this Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11. Watch the giant pumpkin weigh-off, see a crane hoist one of the heavyweights high over the park for the giant pumpkin drop, and ride the Ferris wheel above the St. Croix.

Add a walk down Main Street and the color on the bluffs, and it's one of the best weekends of the year in Stillwater. Check the official event page for times. If you see me there, say hello!

10/07/2026

Ninety days ago I started sharing this town's stories and this market's numbers, side by side. Here's what four generations actually taught me — the short version. That roots aren't nostalgia; they're INFORMATION. Knowing why the North Hill built what it built, which streets flood-proofed themselves a century ago, what the river does to light and value — that's not charm, that's the dataset.

That trust is the only compounding asset in this business. Every family my great-grandfather's generation dealt with squarely became three generations of neighbors who deal squarely back. And that a town like this doesn't really have transactions. It has handoffs — one steward to the next, one chapter to the next family. For 33 years, being trusted with those handoffs has been the honor of my working life.

The stories will keep coming — the Valley's not done telling them, and neither am I. Thank you for reading, sharing, and stopping me on Main Street to argue about the best staircase. (You know who you are.)

10/06/2026

Wondering if you need to scrub the house top to bottom before an agent walks through? You don't. A first meeting is really just a conversation about your goals and timeline, a walk-through of the home, and a look at pricing through a comparative market analysis, which compares your home to others recently sold and currently listed nearby.

The most useful part often comes from what you share that the agent can't see on their own, like a roof replaced three years ago or a basement that stayed dry through a wet spring. For homeowners in St. Croix Valley thinking about this year or next, our blog walks through what to expect and what questions are worth asking along the way.

Thinking about selling in St. Croix Valley? Here's what to expect at a first listing appointment, from the walk-through to pricing to the listing agreement.