Waterfront — Minnesota Real-Estate Agents

1. Joe Houghton

9.4/10

$350K–$3M · 183 reviews

Joe Houghton runs Minnesota Property Group under RE/MAX Results out of Plymouth, and the numbers are the headline: 1,600-plus homes sold since 2002 and 183 Zillow reviews at a perfect 5.0. He's the high-volume, broad-coverage choice across the west metro — from Lake Minnetonka waterfront to first-time and move-up buyers — backed by a full team rather than a solo practice.

2. Ellen DeHaven

9.2/10

$2M+

Ellen DeHaven is one of the most established luxury names on Lake Minnetonka — a 40-plus-year Coldwell Banker Realty veteran in Wayzata with more than $800M in career sales and 300-plus lakeshore homes closed. She is the seasoned, top-of-market choice for estate-tier lakefront in the roughly $2.7M–$8.75M range, where experience and a deep buyer network matter more than a large digital presence.

3. Chad Schwendeman

9.2/10

$11K–$3.2M · 1077 reviews

The highest-volume, most-reviewed real estate team in the Brainerd Lakes market — a safe default pick for exposure and track record, though you'll likely work with a team member rather than Chad personally.

4. Bryce Caldwell

9.1/10

$500K–$2.5M · 27 reviews

Bryce Caldwell is the most content-rich independent agent operating in the Lake Minnetonka west metro corridor. Four years focused on Wayzata, Orono, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, and Deephaven has produced genuine hyperlocal expertise that shows up in how he talks about bays, school district boundaries, and dock rights — not just listing counts. The best fit for buyers and sellers in the $600K–$2.5M range who want a knowledgeable local specialist, not a large team machine.

5. Candee Deichman

8.9/10

$183K–$1.6M

A near-40-year Mankato resident and Century 21 Atwood agent whose active listings run almost entirely $450K-$1.58M, making her the clearest luxury and lake-home specialist found in this market.

6. Kristi Weinstock

8.8/10

$475K–$3.9M

Kristi Weinstock leads The Weinstock Group at Coldwell Banker Realty out of Excelsior, on the south shore of Lake Minnetonka. A 20-plus-year veteran and long-running Twin Cities Super Agent, she covers the south-lake and southwest metro across a wide range, from mid-market homes to $3.9M-plus lakefront. A strong choice for buyers and sellers centered on the Excelsior–Shorewood–Chanhassen side of the lake.

7. Randa Haug

8.8/10

$15K–$2.3M · 177 reviews

A high-volume solo agent with an unusually deep review base for someone not running a branded team — a strong pick for buyers, especially first-timers and single-family/lake-home shoppers.

8. Daniel Gustafson

8.7/10

$150K–$3M

Daniel Gustafson is a 20-plus-year Coldwell Banker Realty veteran who has built his brand around Lake Minnetonka and the Orono corridor — his site is literally lakeminnetonkarealestate.com. He's a steady, experienced choice for buyers and sellers on the north and west shore, comfortable from entry-level up to $3M waterfront.

9. Scott Lynch

8.7/10

$180K–$750K · 100 reviews

Scott Lynch has worked full-time in Central Minnesota real estate since 2001 and is currently with Agency North Real Estate in Sartell, just across the river from St. Cloud. Public sources credit him with more than 500 career transactions and roughly $100 million in sales volume, along with a GRI designation. Independent review platforms show consistently high marks, though the exact count varies by source. He works across a broad range of clients rather than one narrow price tier or property type.

10. Beverly J. Van Alstine

8.7/10

$100K–$750K · 31 reviews

Nearly two decades in the Duluth market with genuine rural/lake-home expertise and a strong, independently verified review record.

11. Corrine Hobbs

8.7/10

$58K–$1.1M · 4 reviews

Duluth's most explicit waterfront/lake specialist, backed by a two-decade track record and a former career as a licensed appraiser.

12. Amanda Lumley

8.7/10

$11K–$2.9M · 47 reviews

The clearest luxury/waterfront specialist of this group, backed by Sotheby's global marketing reach and two decades of local closings up to $2.85M.

13. Robert Elliott

8.7/10

$16K–$690K · 6 reviews

A two-decade Bemidji broker/owner with a perfect 5-star Zillow record and deep lake, land, and investment-property expertise.

14. 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.

15. Skip Halverson

8.6/10

$150K–$700K · 7 reviews

A 23-year, Hall-of-Fame RE/MAX producer with a perfect (if thin) review record, built around first-time buyers, lake/recreational property, and round-the-clock availability.

16. Becky O'Brien

8.5/10

$175K–$660K · 66 reviews

A 25+-year Maple Grove veteran whose electrician/housing-inspector background gives real technical edge on rural, acreage, and lakeshore deals.

17. Scott Rodman

8.4/10

$77K–$680K · 28 reviews

A Blaine-office luxury and lakefront specialist with the strongest independently-verified review record in this batch — 4.9 stars across 28 reviews.

18. 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.

19. Stu Wood

8.3/10

$185K–$2.3M

An Alexandria native and Edina Realty's top local producer, with the largest tracked sales volume of any agent we reviewed in this market.

20. Richard McDonough

8.2/10

$370K–$2.4M

Richard McDonough is a fourth-generation Stillwater resident who has worked as a real estate broker in the city for roughly three decades and holds dual licensure in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He practices as an associate broker with Lakes Sotheby's International Realty out of its downtown Stillwater office, with current and recent listings concentrated in the historic Main Street corridor. Third-party transaction data (homes.com) shows 84 closed sales over the past five years worth about $41.9 million; that figure, and the 238 sold listings shown on his own brokerage profile, are both well below the '450+ career transactions' cited in his marketing, a gap that is not explained anywhere public.

21. Amy Mattfield

8.2/10

$175K–$900K

An 18-year-experienced Edina Realty agent whose renovation background and multiple named client testimonials set her apart on lakeshore property.

22. Mark Reiland

8.1/10

$275K–$850K · 15 reviews

Mark Reiland has worked the south metro out of RE/MAX Advantage Plus's Savage office since 2000 and leads the small Reiland Team there. His public review record is real but thin — 15 Google reviews at 4.2 stars — and his brokerage profile lists a wide, generalist range of specialties rather than a narrow focus. Recorded sales cluster in Shakopee, Prior Lake, and Savage, consistent with a Scott County-centered practice. He holds a Certified Distressed Property Expert designation, relevant to short-sale and foreclosure work.

23. Chad Piepho

8.0/10

$200K–$1.5M · 6 reviews

Chad Piepho has worked in Minnesota real estate since 2003 and has been based in the Brainerd Lakes area since 2008, now serving as broker/owner of Counselor Realty's Brainerd office. His public review footprint is thin for that tenure — six ratings on one aggregator site, all five stars — so there is limited independent volume to judge consistency against. His stated coverage is concentrated on specific lake chains (Gull Lake, Whitefish Chain) and nearby towns rather than the broader Brainerd market as a whole.

24. Wendy Giles

8.0/10

$100K–$800K

A 27-year Bemidji-area veteran at RE/MAX Results with an unusually broad specialty list, from rentals to lakefront lifestyle to development land.