There are many areas I feel hold potential. One such area is the Cornelia Lake neighborhood in Edina. Buying a house here is still affordable, you are blocks away from France Ave./Southdale. Obviously it is in the Edina school district. There are many beautiful parks, and nice yards. Recently there has been a number of investors who have bought houses here and torn them down to build new better ones. To me, that is a sign it is a good place to be. Also it is only minutes away from the Mall of America as well as downtown Minneapolis.
Also in terms of Edina, in most large metro areas the very expensive and "exclusive" areas hold their value throughout time and are always viewed that way...I think Edina is an example of a suburb that will profit as the rich get richer.
I think the Golden Valley area would be good because it is very close to downtown Minneapolis and has some beautiful neighborhoods.
Wayzata of course is also great
Is there any hope for Richfield? Geez....it is in such a good locale, and there are more jobs coming to the area, with a serious renovation of the area this could be a great place....or it could just continue in the path of outdated houses that it is stuck in.