A property line dispute in Lodi Township, in Washtenaw County, has taken protest to new heights. A farmer has constructed what he calls a “compost fence” to mark his property line. The fence is built of cow manure, and the stench overwhelms rental tenant Wayne Lambarth’s home near the property line. Despite complaints, local officials say there’s nothing they can do because it’s on the farmer’s property.
In an effort to unite two separate offices under the same roof, Plante Moran shuttered its owned 125,000-square-foot office at 27400 Northwestern Highway and is leasing 8 floors in the Southfield Town Center in addition to the four it currently occupies at that location. The accounting, tax advisory, real estate and wealth management firm will occupy the first through 12th floors of the 32-story 3000 Town Center tower. The move will relocate 550 Victor Center building employees to the Southfield Town Center.
It’s a home seller’s dream come true. With parts of Michigan down to just a one-month supply of housing inventory, buyers need to get creative with their home-buying strategies. Realtors offer advice like positioning yourself to be the backup offer on sale-pending homes. Often the deals are to good to be true and fall through. Getting your backup offer in is like putting your foot in the door. Some buyers are making creative offers that include payer other buyers to take their offers off the table. Making sure you have a realtor who is well-experienced with getting offers accepted and showings scheduled, even virtually if necessary, can make a huge difference in your success.
Meijer is eyeing the site of an abandoned Kmart store in Orion Township. Located at 1025 S. Lapeer Rd. in the Lake Orion Plaza, the old Big K store would be demolished and replaced with a 90,000 square-foot Meijer store. The new Meijer store will not be a full-size supercenter, but it will carry more than just groceries. Although Meijer says it’s too early to release details like project start and completion dates, the owner of the shopping center believes that the company is aiming for a late 2022 opening.
Once valued at $101 million in 2014, the Dearborn mall is currently valued at $42.75 million. That’s a 57.7% decrease in value. The Florida-based Starwood Capital Partners purchased the property in 2014 as part of a $1.4 billion deal that included The Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township and five other malls. Fairlane Town Center has been in receivership since May and faces liquidation.
After an unprecedented flurry of winter homebuying, the 2021 spring market feels a bit different. Instead of the new-homebuying-season feeling, it feels more like a continuation of the winter rush. That rush is predicted to continue due to three reasons: First, the supply/demand equilibrium is defined as about four to six months of inventory. Inventory has been below four months for six years and is currently at five months in many West Michigan markets. Second, attraction to the West Michigan region continues to grow. And finally, it appears that consumer interest rates will stay low.
Michigan realtors are stunned by the dog-eat-dog housing market. The low home inventory and historically low mortgage interest rates have created the perfect storm. Michigan’s supply of housing inventory is down 61%, and the median sale price is up 13.5% from a year ago. Some realtors say a home’s listing price has become something akin to a reserve price at an auction. Buyers are bidding far above the asking price and offering cash on the table. At the least, buyers need to come to the table with substantial cash down payments.
Metro Detroit’s current real estate market surge will most likely continue into the fall. Homes continue to sell within a few days, frustrating potential buyers who can’t even schedule a showing. Farmington Hills-based Realcomp recorded the highest median sale price for the month of March in 18 years at $210,000. In the past, buyers desired turn-key ready properties, but in the current market, they’re considering homes that need work or could even be demolished and rebuilt because of low inventory. This trend is being seen nationally, too.
All Michigan downtowns have been hit by the pandemic. With decreased foot traffic and former customers continuing to work from home, business is slow. But downtown Lansing has been hit especially hard as its businesses rely on the State of Michigan office hub. Struggling businesses have lost up to 90% of their sales while waiting for state employees to return to work. Unfortunately, even once the pandemic fades, far fewer state employees will return to work on a daily basis.
Residential properties are flying off the market in Southeast Michigan. The average time a home spends on the market dropped from 66 days in March of 2020 to 38 days last month. Properties are moving so fast that open houses aren’t necessary. First time home buyers and those lacking a hefty down payment are struggling against the competitive market.
