There are many misconceptions about real estate in West Michigan. Recently the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors current President, Jamie Starner debunked some of them. Speaking to a group of about 90 Real Estate Brokers at the GRAR Broker's Annual Meeting, Starner delved into the statistics to mine the true core of West Michigan's real estate market.

Comparing the market 5 years ago in 2002 when prices and sales were at a peak, Starner noted that we have about twice as many listings today 11,600 vs. 5,800 in 2002 and the average marketing time has also doubled from to 12 months vs. 6. Quoting Lawrence Yeun, NAR's economist and author of a recent article online entiteled "The Wrong Correction", he compared the situation in Michigan to what Houston, TX went through during the crisis in the defense industry in which many jobs were lost.

These daunting statistics paint a grim picture until one goes deeper. Jamie Starner noted that while most of the country had enjoyed wild gains in value, West Michigan had stayed pretty conservative in the price increases. So, although the downturn in the economy has had a major impact in our local area, house prices have not fallen as drastically as might have been anticipated given the widespread nature of the economic woes of the State of Michigan.

In fact overall number of home sales are down only 6% from where they were 5 years ago although the total number of homes for sale has risen significantly. And finally, the average sale PRICE is actually up slightly from the same period 5 years ago. While this is not a huge gain, the drastic downturn in the economy of many parts of the State of Michigan would have had most people guessing that the average sale price would be much lower.

This evening, I did a search online to see the number of foreclosures in our current market. I had checked about 60 days ago and the number was approximately 600. Today, the number of homes in Foreclosure on the Grand Rapids real estate board is 704. Now, not all these homes are in Kent County. In fact, there are many counties represented in this number. According to Starner, Kent County's average for homes in foreclosure was actually less than the national average. Across the nation, there is 1 Foreclosure for every 693 homes. In Kent County, that number is 1 Foreclosure for every 565 homes.

There are definitely some excellent deals available to Buyers right now! I noted that there were 32 homes priced below $50,000! This is an excellent place to shop if you are an Investor or would like to buy a cheap home. There are almost 300 homes priced below $100,000. Homes that will require a Short Sale to be sold or which are in the Pre-Foreclosure or redemption period are available in every single price range...including the high end luxury market.

So, What Value does your dollar buy if you're considering a Short Sale Home Purchase in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Well, it depends on what you're looking for. One major misconception about homes which require a Short Sale is that they are in poor shape. While this is sometimes true, there are many homes which are in almost Move In Condition. Contact us to locate homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service which are excellent Values in the Grand Rapids area.

If you're looking for a complete list of homes in Short Sale of Foreclosure in the greater Grand Rapids area, please contact us. Audu Real Estate has successfully negotiated a number of transactions in Short Sale or Foreclosure. This series of articles about the Short Sale process in Grand Rapids, Michigan may be helpful in understanding the process. Or, you can simply call us for a FREE, No Obligation Consultation.

*All listings are provided courtesy of Broker Reciprocity.

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