Michigan Mobile Home Owners Feel The Pinch As Lot Rent Increases

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Across the U.S., private equity investors are buying up manufactured housing communities and driving up lot rents. Many mobile homeowners have lower or fixed incomes, and increases in rent make it difficult to meet expenses. Older mobile home residents are particularly impacted, often lacking money for adequate food.  A series of Michigan bills could hamper those investors’ actions by creating more protections for mobile homeowners and updating the state’s manufactured housing law. Mobile home ownership is one of the few affordable housing options in rural and urban areas.

 

The Office Market Continues to Limp Post Pandemic

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More than two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office market is still reeling. Sublet office space availability is at a 10-year high. Over 2.37 million square feet is available in the five-county area. Office tenants are subletting unused space. If they are unable to sublease, they give back the additional space to landlords, usually in an early lease restructure or relocation to another place. According to the president of the Advocate Commercial Real Estate Advisors LLC brokerage house, the amount of sublease space on the market will increase in the next 3 to 6 months. In addition, leasing activity is slower than usual, and no new construction of office space occurred in the second quarter.

 

 

Redevelopment of Detroit’s Roosevelt Park Begins

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Detroit officials broke ground on the $6 million redevelopment of Roosevelt Park in front of the Michigan Central development in Corktown. The project involves redirecting a section of Vernor Highway that bisects the park. It also includes plans for a promenade that will connect Michigan Avenue to Michigan Central Station, plaza spaces and event lawns, expanding the park by 3.5 acres. It is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023. The redevelopment is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and from the city’s general fund.

 

Mortgage Demand Dips Past Great Recession Levels

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as Washington, D.C.-based industry trade group, the demand for mortgages has dropped lower than any time during the Great Recession over ten years ago. The severe housing shortage continues in Michigan and across the country, limiting the availability of existing homes. Soaring interest rates are also impacting the mortgage market. According to a study from Up for Growth, Michigan is almost 87,000 houses shy of where it should be. Data from Realcomp reveals record-high sale prices in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties, as well as in Detroit.

 

 

Median Home Prices Reach New Heights in Detroit

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Detroit’s median sales price for a home topped $100,000 in June. According to the CEO of Realcomp, it’s the first time values have been that high, and it’s an important benchmark. The median sales price of $100,250 in Detroit is based on June sales figures. Wayne, Macomb and Oakland county values have also reached new heights with increases ranging from 10.1 to 17.6 percent increases. While the increases benefit homeowners, it leaves many first-time buyers grasping at straws. Inflation, high demand for housing, and the scarcity of new construction have contributed to the issue.

 

Birmingham Couple Files Race Discrimination Lawsuit in Federal Court

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Birmingham couple, Jeffrey Hall and Deann Nash have filed a federal lawsuit alleging housing discrimination. They purchased property in Paint Creek Estates in Oakland Township and submitted plans for a stone house to the neighborhood’s architectural review committee. The committee rejected the plans. The HOA insists the rejection is about design and not race. Hall is Black and Nash is white. They are claiming violations of the Fair Housing Act. Their plans follow the community’s bylaws, while a white-owned home that did not follow the bylaws in square footage and brick color was approved. 

 

Harper Woods Developer Buys Cleveland Apartment Project.

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Harper Woods-based developer American Community Developers Inc. purchased and has renovation plans for a 484-unit apartment project in Cleveland.  The company specializes in the buying and rehabilitating affordable housing. Cleveland’s Rainbow Terrace was built in the 1950s and sits on 31 acres. The units are a mix of garden-style apartments and townhouses for low-income families. The company paid $8.55 million and expects to spend about $18 million on upgrades and deferred maintenance.

 

 

Judge Dismisses Lake Charlevoix Lawsuit

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33rd Circuit Court Judge Roy C. Hayes III dismissed the lawsuit against Hayes Township officials. The lawsuit alleges a lack of due process and conflict of interest concerning the construction of a boathouse and private marina on residential property. The plaintiff  and neighbor LuAnne Kozma and her husband, with support from environmental groups, have been trying to stop the project. The lawsuit wasn’t about environmental concerns, however, but rather the lack of township administration. Judge Hayes did not find the lawsuit to have a proper basis and asserted that it was without merit.

 

Entrepreneur Nurse Set To Transform Detroit Block

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Nurse Sonya Greene’s redevelopment project is transforming a Detroit block into a business district. The project is called The Shift and  will include a fresh food market, barbershop, hair salon, nonprofit office space and a 4-unit newly renovated apartment complex. The  food market is an 1,800-square-foot property at 12752 Linwood St. The market, the barbershop and 1 or 2 of the apartments are expected to be open in late August.  Greene purchased the market space in December 2017. Although she wanted the whole development to open at one time, funding dictated a different approach.

 

Hotels Offer New Perks To Business Travelers

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Hotels are experiencing a revival of leisure travel. This May marked the third consecutive month that U.S. hotel profitability exceeded 2019 levels. However, business travel isn’t rebounding as quickly and isn’t expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Detroit and Cincinnati’s markets are experiencing losses close to 23 percent. Larger cities like New York City and Chicago are weathering losses around 50 percent. Hotels are getting creative to encourage business travel by offering “bleisure” perks (business + leisure). They’re offering incentives like co-working spaces with luxury hotel amenities, special access to exclusive local museums, one-on-one exercise training sessions with an Olympic medalist, and welcoming pet policies,