Showing a couple of gorgeous Grand Rapids homes located in some of our wonderful Ada Township Subdivisions. Looking at the market over the last year or so, the homes at this price point have had to really come down in price in order to attract those good, qualified buyers. It has been the same to some extent throughout most of the Grand Rapids market but particularly in these homes. Another thing I have noticed is that the home owners are now preparing their home for showings much better. Going the extra mile to really impress and that is a great idea and so important.

As a listing agent in Grand Rapids, while pricing a home correctly is the most important step when selling your home, another step that I recommend is preparing your home for the inevitable showings. First impressions are very important and a buyer looking for that high end home is expecting to see a home in show room condition. If you can have the lights on, soft music playing, even better. But it has to be clean and it has to smell nice and it has to be free from clutter.

Thinking of selling a home? Visit my Home Seller page for pricing and staging tips or feel free to contact me any time.

Today’s Showings

 The Home and Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids (HBAGGR) puts on two Parade of Homes each year and the fall parade is all set to start on September 24th thru October 9th. This year will also see the addition of superbly remodeled homes in addition to the new construction offerings using Green technology and featuring floor plans and designs of all types. The HBA office is located at 3196 Kraft Ave SE.

Grand Rapids has no shortage of quality builders and craftsmen. The Parade of Homes is an excellent opportunity for buyers currently in the market to take in some excellent homes, meet some of the builders and get some ideas that they can incorporate into their own home building plans. Current home owners looking to remodel can also benefit from taking the tour and seeing the innovations currently being used.

Each home on the tour will be staffed by non-profit groups that will be there to welcome you and sell tickets. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the non profit organiaztions that help out with the staffing. The Grand Rapids Fall Parade will feature 25 homes, 5 condos, 5 remodels and 2 conceptuals.

For more information, visit the official website or contact me anytime.

During my travels in the Grand Rapids real estate market I come across some great deals and I thought it would be  fun and informative  to share these awesome deals with my readers. The market has been a buyer’s market for quite a while and even though the Tax credit incentive has come and gone, homes and condos are still selling. Interest rates are at all time lows, housing prices are still low and I have been showing and selling quite a bit of Grand Rapids homes and condos.

Interestingly, many of my new clients are connecting with me through my websites at GRRealEstateInfo.com and this website, GrandRapidsRealEstateTrends.com. A lot of them are relocating to Grand Rapids and I have been meeting people from across the country that are finding work here in GR. I think that is such a big positive for our city!

I will update this page weekly with the latest deals. For most of them, I will not be the listing agent and even though I do personally carry some great listings and wonderful ownership opportunities, I will be featuring listings throughout Grand Rapids and the surrounding areas that, in my opinion, are great deals. If you have any questions about any of these homes or condos, feel free to contact me anytime as I would be happy to work with you as your Buyer’s Agent.

This week’s listing is a short sale. I showed this one several times and it is a spectacular home in Cascade Township. Short sales can be a long drawn out affair, often lasting months and months. However it is possible to purchase this home with a full price offer and avoid the short sale. That is not something I would recommend but in this case it is well worth it as recent comps show a tremendous value can be had. Instant equity is good.

Macromarkets has recently completed a study on just this situation. They have assembled a panel of over 100 economists, investment strategists and housing market analysts. They are surveyed every month regarding their 5 year expectations of future home prices. 70% of the participants in this study believe that home prices will drop or remain the same with 60% predicting lower prices. What this illustrates is that it may be best to sell your home now rather than wait it out. The buyers are out there and sales have increased over the same period last year.

Selling Grand Rapids homes and condos is what we specialize in. We employ the latest in internet marketing techniques and our websites are always at the top of the search engines. These powerful tools enable us to expose your home to the most qualified local and relocating buyers in the shortest amount of time. Knowledge of the market helps us educate you on price and what to do to stage your home for maximum effect. We also are experienced in Grand Rapids Short Sales and can help you sell your home and negotiate with the lender even though you may owe more than the market value. If you have any questions, we would love to help you.

May Market Report

In April, single family homes sales in the Grand rapids area were strong due to buyers  rushing to capitalize on the $8000 Tax Credit deadline. The number of homes sales in April was up almost 16% from March with a total of 1428 homes sold. And by the way, sales were up nearly 40% from this time last year. April marked the 6th month in a row of declining inventory.

Year to date  home sales are up nearly 27% over the same period last year with 4551 homes sold. The average price of a Grand Rapids home rose over last year, to $123,172. Short Sales and Foreclosures have fallen to their lowest level since August 2009 at 41% of sales. That is still quite a high percentage. Home sales are not expected to drop to drastically even though the tax credit has expired as we are entering the spring market, typically a busy time in Grand Rapids home sales.

One astonishing little number is that last year at this time, only 18 homes over $500,000 had been sold. So far this year, 33 homes over $500,000 have sold, nearly double the amount.

For more information about the Grand rapids real estate market, feel free to call or email me any time. If you are in the market to purchase a Grand Rapids’ home or condo, use this website to Search for Homes and help you find what you are looking for. If you have a home to sell, learn about our proactive marketing which gets homes sold in this market.

The Grand Rapids real estate market continues to show some life for the moment. The average single-family home sales prices rose slightly from 4.6% to $110,574, over January 2010 ($105,714), the first increase since November 2009. The total number of single-family homes sold in February was 930, up 16.1 percent from last month and up 25.5 percent compared to February 2009 (741). Dollar volume of single family homes sold was up 45.6 percent compared to last month. These numbers while promising,  will be impacted by the $8000 Tax credit  coming to an end.

The number of total active residential listings rose to 7,935 in January. This coupled with the increase in February sales, lead to
a decline in the months-of-inventory level to 8.5 months in February, down from 9.5 months in January 2010.

John Postma, President of the Grand Rapids Association of REALTORS, commented on the market, “We’re continuing to see small improvements in the market,” said John. “The average ‘days on market’ is going down, while the average selling price, median sales price and the percentage of the listing price compared to the sales price all continue to show stability or improvement. In certain segments of the housing market, we’re seeing a shortage of homes.”

If you are thinking of putting your Grand Rapids home or condo on the market and would like to know what it would sell for, please visit the Home Evaluation section of this website and fill out the form. There is no cost and no obligation for this service. We will get back to you within 24 hours with a detailed report on your home’s market value and your costs to close.

Our websites enjoy top search engine placement and our listings receive a great deal of market exposure to local and out of town buyers. Visit our Grand Rapids Grand Rapids Homeseller page for more information on our proactive marketing and let us know how we can help.

Showing Some Lovely Homes Today – It’s a Buyer’s Market

 The Grand Rapids Real Estate Market is still a buyer’s market. I am showing a client some absolutely stunning homes and I wanted to take this opportunity to point out how much values have dropped. Particularly in the Grand Rapids Luxury Home Market. Prices have dropped 20 – 30 % in some places and that translates into some incredible bargains. I get allot of inquiries from buyers that are using my Grand Rapids Real Estate website and my blogs, to search for homes. One of the most popular pages is the Luxury home page and Grand Rapids Waterfront page. The reason being that these high end homes have seen the largest price drops.

We’ll be looking mostly in the Forest Hills school system, which happens to be one of the areas premier schools. You can get homes with some acreage, over 4000 square feet, some will have waterfront access and/or views. The interiors will be decked out with granite, gorgeous floors using bamboo or european tile, green technology and you can purchase some of these under $500,000 now. And there are many of them out there to be had by the shrewd and patient home buyer.

For more information about the current market, contact me any time.

I’m excited to announce a new listing I took on my Birthday, December 9th!!! This home is a cute one, in walking distance to Westwood Middle School. It is a Bi/Level with 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. The entry has lovely tile and the large living area seems even more spacious because of the Cathedral Ceilings and tasteful use of colors. The kitchen has plenty of room, a snackbar and the dining area has sliders to a nice deck, perfect for summer entertaining. The backyard is fenced with a storage shed so it would be ideal if you have any dogs.

The lower level is a walkout and has just been professionally remodeled to add family/den areas and a full bath. Laminate wood flooring has been put down and a dramatic addition in the form of a stone fireplace has been added in the family/rec area. The den area is plumbed for a wet bar or can be easily converted into a 4th bedroom. There is ample storage in the basement as well as the laundry room.

This new listing in Grand Rapids Schools is located on a cul-de-sac in a safe, quiet neghborhood. Eligible first time home buyers may qualify for the $7500 tax credit. It is also close to the major highways so commuting is easy, PLUS, it is a short hop to downtown Grand Rapids. if you are a student or working downtown, this may be a good purchase or investment opportunity. It is very easy to show, email or call me direct at 616-570-1871.

For more information or to search for homes online, visit my website at GRRealEstateInfo.com.