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Content is loading, please wait.Orono · Hennepin County · Waterfront
Best Waterfront Real-Estate Agents in Orono, MN (2026)
Rankings updated August 2026
These 7 agents serving Orono have demonstrated waterfront expertise, independently scored on local knowledge, client reviews and market expertise — never who paid to be here.
Inclusion requires both a directory area match for Orono and the waterfrontspecialty tag. Those fields are editorial classifications, not proof of a recent local closing; review each profile's evidence and ask for comparable recent work.
Top waterfront agents in Orono
| # | Agent | Score | Focus | Brokerage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Houghton | 9.4 | Waterfront | MN Property Group · RE/MAX Results |
| 2 | Ellen DeHaven | 9.2 | Luxury | Coldwell Banker Realty |
| 3 | Bryce Caldwell | 9.1 | Waterfront | RE/MAX Advantage Plus |
| 4 | Kristi Weinstock | 8.8 | Luxury | The Weinstock Group · Coldwell Banker Realty |
| 5 | Daniel Gustafson | 8.7 | Luxury | Coldwell Banker Realty |
| 6 | Tom Nicklow | 8.6 | Waterfront | Minnetonka Realty, Inc. |
| 7 | Gregg Larsen | 8.3 | Luxury | Coldwell Banker Realty |
1. Joe Houghton
9.4/10$127K–$1.9M
Joe Houghton operates Minnesota Property Group under RE/MAX Results in Plymouth. Minnesota Commerce showed resident-broker license 40503429 Active through June 30, 2028 when checked August 2, 2026. His biography claims 1,600-plus career sales since 2002, while Zillow separately displayed 1,597 team sales, 20 in the prior 12 months and 183 team reviews at a displayed 5.0.
Waterfront+2 more
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2. Ellen DeHaven
9.2/10$185K–$8.8M · 2 reviews
Ellen DeHaven leads a Coldwell Banker Global Luxury team in Wayzata and held an Active Minnesota resident-salesperson record when checked August 2, 2026. RealTrends reports 9 individual sides and $22.01M for 2025, while Homes.com displayed 82 closed sales and $170.9M over five years. Her $800M career-sales and 300-plus lakeshore-sales figures remain first-party claims, not independently reconciled career totals.
Luxury+1 more
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3. Bryce Caldwell
9.1/10$126K–$891K · 27 reviews
Bryce Caldwell is a Minnetonka-based RE/MAX Advantage Plus agent whose strongest public differentiator is a library of sourced west-metro and Lake Minnetonka due-diligence guides. Zillow displayed 27 reviews at 5.0, 17 sales in the prior 12 months, 62 total sales and a $126K–$891K range when reviewed. His own About page claimed 64 career sales, so the two totals remain separate rather than being blended.
Waterfront+1 more
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4. Kristi Weinstock
8.8/10$475K–$3.9M · 9 reviews
Kristi Weinstock is a Coldwell Banker Realty agent in Excelsior with a first-party Lake Minnetonka and west-metro focus. Zillow displayed nine reviews at a 5.0 average, 53 sales in the trailing 12 months, 814 total recorded sales and a $130,000-to-$4.5 million sold-price range when this profile was reviewed. Coldwell Banker's experience and award statements remain attributed brokerage claims.
Luxury+2 more
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5. Daniel Gustafson
8.7/10$150K–$3M · 1 reviews
Daniel Gustafson is a Coldwell Banker Realty agent in Wayzata. Minnesota Commerce showed salesperson license 40402029 Active through June 30, 2028 when checked August 2, 2026. A separate 2016 Commerce consent order imposed a $5,000 civil penalty, a 30-day suspension, ethics education and mortgage-satisfaction terms; that historical order is not a claim of current suspension.
Luxury+2 more
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6. Tom Nicklow
8.6/10$250K–$1.5M
Tom Nicklow has run Minnetonka Realty, a brokerage carrying the city's name, as broker/owner for the past 14 years, inside a firm with more than three decades of history there. He has sold Twin Cities residential real estate since 1984, holds the NAR's GRI designation, and was named a Mpls/St Paul Magazine "Super Agent" in 2023 and 2024. He works alone rather than leading a team, and covers a broad mix of property types — lakeshore, distressed, land — rather than one narrow niche.
Waterfront
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7. Gregg Larsen
8.3/10$275K+
A 30-year Lake Minnetonka waterfront specialist — strong for lakefront or luxury business, less suited to a budget starter-home search.
Luxury+1 more
Read review→Ranking disclosure
Why this ranking appears in this order
This page compares 7 researched waterfront agents serving Orono. The displayed order follows the published five-factor score. The math is fixed; the five input scores are editorial evaluations of the public evidence available through August 2026.
- Ranking formula
- Local knowledge 25% + client reviews 25% + market expertise 20% + communication 15% + specialization fit 15%.
- Time period
- Evidence reviewed through August 2026. Review totals are snapshots; career claims may cover longer periods and must state that context.
- Objective vs. editorial
- The weighted calculation is deterministic after the inputs are assigned. Selecting evidence and assigning each dimension score require editorial judgment.
- Commercial independence
- Agents cannot purchase inclusion, a score, numbered position, or favorable verdict. Any sponsorship must appear outside the editorial ranking.
- Transaction-data boundary
- This edition does not use a private MLS feed or a standardized file of verified 2025 closings. Sales volume, homes sold, sale-to-list ratio, and days on market are not assumed when attributable evidence is unavailable.
- Independent corroboration
- Government records control licensing facts. Brokerage, agent, review-platform, award, and production claims are kept distinct; agreement across sources raises confidence but does not erase source limitations.
What to look for in a Orono waterfront agent
- ✓Fluency in LMCD dock regulations and riparian rights
- ✓Understanding of deeded vs association lake access
- ✓Bay-by-bay pricing knowledge on Lake Minnetonka
- ✓Experience with DNR shoreland setbacks and watershed permitting
Waterfront agents in Orono — FAQ
Who is the best waterfront real-estate agent in Orono, MN?
Joe Houghton (9.4/10) is our top-rated waterfront agent serving Orono, scored on local knowledge, client reviews and market expertise — with no pay-to-rank.
How many waterfront agents serve Orono?
We currently rank 7 waterfront real-estate agents serving Orono, each independently scored on the same five dimensions.
How are these Orono agents ranked?
Every agent gets a 0–10 editorial score — a weighted average of local knowledge, client reviews, market expertise, communication and specialization fit. No agent can pay to rank higher. See our methodology for the full method.