1. It is Minnesota's eighth largest city. Eagan covers 33 square miles and has 67,500 residents, compared with 47,400 in 1990.
2. It has a handy location. The second-ring suburb is south of the Minnesota River, is only seven minutes from the airport and almost equidistant from Minneapolis and St. Paul. .
3. Family-friendly attractions: Cool off at the Cascade Bay outdoor water park slides, lazy river float and mini-golf. Trapp Farm Park has a tubing hill and a fishing dock, walking paths, playfield and playground. The Holz farm, settled in the 1870s, is a living history farm and holds events all year.
4. Wide-open spaces: The city has ponds, lakes and 4,550 acres of open space.
5. Sports and leisure activities: Eagan has more than 50 city parks, 130 miles of walking trails, 30 soccer fields, 79 softball diamonds, BMX bike and skateboard parks and 350 lakes and ponds.
6. Range of home prices: Housing stock includes condos, townhouses and single-family homes (many built during the late 1980s housing boom). Condo prices start at $100,000, townhouses start in the low $100,000 range, 1950s and '60s ramblers range from $160,000 to $220,000 and two-story homes are priced from about $275,000. The most expensive home on the market today is a Toll Brothers $1.35 million model home in the Steeplechase development. The average sale price for a home in Eagan in 2008 was $241,531, with 681 closed homes.
7. Lots are still available. With the suburb 95 percent developed, most lots are in existing subdivisions in neighborhoods such as Steeplechase and near Red Pine Elementary.
8. Commuters care: Agent John Willy of the Edina Realty Eagan office said that because Eagan is closer to downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul than its neighbors to the south, home prices tend to be slightly higher.
