Bedrock Purchases Stroh River Place Property

Bedrock LLC finalized the purchase of the Stroh River Place property from The Stroh Companies, Inc. The 500,000-square-foot building sits in the Rivertown Warehouse District, east of downtown Detroit. The purchase includes 735 parking spaces and 4.4 acres of undeveloped land. The property sits along the 3.5-mile Detroit Riverwalk and is the company’s second purchase outside of downtown Detroit. The site used to be a manufacturing and research facility. The Stroh Brewery Company purchased the building in 1979 and renovated it.

Michigan real estate news headlines

Michigan Real Estate News Headlines – May 17, 2021

National

Investors Bet on Commercial Real Estate, Undeterred by Empty Offices and Hotel Rooms

Biden’s tax proposal ‘very concerning’ for commercial real estate: Marcus & Millichap CEO

How to Navigate a Hot Housing Market

Evictions

CDC Eviction Moratorium Expires Next Month, Help Available Now

Foreclosure

One-third of people who delayed mortgage payments during COVID-19 used cash for groceries, utilities

Detroit

Real Estate Insider: Here’s what it will cost you to build out an office this year

Dan Gilbert’s Hudson’s Project — an Architectural Marvel or Stairs to Nowhere?

Bedrock buys commercial site on Detroit riverfront

Did New York developer bite off more than he could chew in Detroit?

Middle class growth stagnates in Detroit, Future City report finds

Grand Rapids

New push begins to ease approval of gravel mining in residential areas

Southeast Michigan

Real Estate Insider: Here’s what it will cost you to build out an office this year

United Wholesale Mortgage spending $10 million on sports, community center in Pontiac

New push begins to ease approval of gravel mining in residential areas

Oakland County’s luxury home market booming

Sellers’ market: Ask and you shall receive — more

An Auburn Hills revivial: Main business district sees $55 million in projects and construction

Western Michigan

New push begins to ease approval of gravel mining in residential areas

Northern Michigan

New push begins to ease approval of gravel mining in residential areas

Outstate

New push begins to ease approval of gravel mining in residential areas

Weekly Brief – May 10, 2021

Real estate investors and developers are inherently optimistic. Most of the time, that is a positive trait in a developer. However, when storm clouds are on the horizon, that same optimism can be a fatal flaw. Two data points that were reported this week may be storm clouds on the horizon for the United States in general, and Michigan specifically. Developers and investors who fail to monitor this trend may have a blind spot for the potential for decreases in property value and marketability.

First, the preliminary data from the 2020 Census was reported. The data shows that the United States had its second-slowest growth ever. Only the decade after the Great Depression had a slower growth rate. While the news was bad for the country in general, it was worse for Michigan. Michigan actually lost population in the last decade.

The second data point, which is obviously related, is that the birth rate in the United States continues to decline. This declining birth rate will eventually lead to population decline unless the declining birth rate is replaced by immigration. For a view of what declining population means for a developed country, a view of the economic issues facing Japan is helpful.  Japan will see its population dip by 30% over the next few decades unless the country’s birth rate increases or immigration is increased. The impact on the economy in Japan will be devastating, as there will not be sufficient workers to care for older citizens, or even fund the social safety net for such elderly citizens.

What this means for the real estate economy should be clear. Without population growth, there will be much less need for new construction, which means there will be fewer construction jobs, financing, etc. This could eventually lead to a downward, self-fulfilling, cycle of economic contraction. Put bluntly, we need more people. Whether through births or otherwise. The economy depends upon growth.

Building Permit Application Lets The Cat Out Of The Bag

Because of a building permit application, the Apple Developer Academy’s future site is finally public knowledge.  The Apple Developer Academy is going into the 850,000 square foot National Building in downtown Detroit. It will be located on the second and third floors of the building. Based on permit cost, construction is estimated to be $1.41 million. The program will cover coding, design and entrepreneurship.

Development Proposed For St. Vincent & Sarah Fisher Property

The history St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher property in Farmington Hills may soon be repurposed into a two-story, 140-bed nursing facility and 3 three-story multi-family apartment buildings. Novi-based Optalis Healthcare would keep the existing administration building and one of the other smaller buildings. It would also leave 7.5 acres of open space on the property. Nearby residents have voiced concerns that the three-story apartment buildings would clash with the nearby residential areas. The site has been vacant since 2005.

Tourist Destination Struggles to Maintain Workforce

A vibrant tourist destination, small town Charlevoix is struggling to recruit workers. Upward pressure on rent and home prices is scaring workers off who can’t find affordable year-round housing. The two hardest hit groups are workers who make less than $26,000 a year and professionals who make between $70,000-$100,000 a year. Rentals are scarce, as are affordable homes for sale. Recent efforts to convert part of a golf course into affordable year-round housing was voted down by residents.

Judge Orders Extension On Foreclosure Protections

The Wayne County Treasurer filed a motion requesting that the redemption period on property tax foreclosures be extended. Judge Timothy Kenny ordered that foreclosure protections for occupied homes and commercial properties be extended to March 31, 2022. The order will keep properties off the annual auction block. However property taxes must continue to be paid. The Treasurer asserts that the main objective is to keep people in their homes.

Stellantis Pilots New Work Model

White-collar workers at Stellantis are likely to continue working remotely much of the time once they formally come back to the office. The company has devised a new work model that it calls the New Era of Agility. As part of a new pilot program in October, 450 employees will return to the Chrysler Technology Center at the headquarters complex in Auburn Hills. What’s learned in the pilot program will determine how the company proceeds with its remaining employees, but it envisions a split of 70% remote work to 30% on-site time.

Michigan Real Estate News Headlines – May 10, 2021

National

Electric car-charging business doing everything but making money

Evictions

Federal judge vacates CDC’s nationwide eviction moratorium

Millions of renters brace for a post-pandemic ax

The battle for 1042 Cutler Street

Detroit

Wayne County gets postponement of some foreclosures in 2021

Judge halts foreclosures of Wayne County’s occupied properties

Apple, Michigan State developer academy appears to have found a home

Grand Rapids

Developer proposes affordable, 47-unit apartment project in Grand Rapids

Southeast Michigan

Wayne County gets postponement of some foreclosures in 2021

Judge halts foreclosures of Wayne County’s occupied properties

Remote work won’t end with Stellantis’ return-to-office plans

Developer plans apartments, senior living at historic Fisher property in Farmington Hills

Real Estate Insider: Plante Moran’s Southfield roots deepen, and why that matters

A seller’s market in Macomb County

‘Insane’ real estate market leads to Southgate house being shown 70 times in two days

Western Michigan

Retail, office momentum remains slow in latest commercial real estate trend report

Northern Michigan

Northern Michigan resort town confronts shortage of year-round housing

High Times: Local Realtors become leaders in commercial properties for cannabis

“The Biggest Loser of 2020”: A look at commercial office real estate’s bad year

Raking It In: Top Realtors shine in 2020’s record-breaking market

Outstate

Mid-Michigan realtor explains “wild” real estate market

 

Weekly Brief – May 3, 2021

Although I could easily write about the ongoing themes of the red-hot residential market, the cratering retail sector, the hot industrial market, or the enigma that is the office market, this week the focus is on the future of the residential market.

The unknowns in the residential market are whether the trend to bigger homes and the flight to suburban and exurban areas will continue. The other unknown is what will happen to the residential inventory when the foreclosure moratorium is finally lifted. The numbers appear to be trending in the direction that we will have a bump in foreclosures and not a tidal wave. If that is the case, the inventory of homes on the market may continue to be constrained through 2022. Unfortunately, new construction does not appear to be a savior for the inventory issues, as the pandemic has caused raw material prices to skyrocket. So the answer to our constrained inventory of homes for sale continues to evade.

All of that leads to the conclusion that, contrary to my intentions, I guess I am writing again about the red-hot residential market. Until the inventory constraints are lifted, the market appears poised to remain a serious seller’s market, and prices seem destined to rise.