Michigan Real Estate News

West Michigan Lakeshore Office Market Remains Stable

Compared to larger cities like Chicago or Detroit, the West Michigan lakeshore office market has remained stable through the pandemic. Still, commercial clients are conservative. Some are downsizing their office footprint or relocating to a smaller downtown area, like Holland, so they can still offer a physical business site with nearby amenities when they need to conduct in-person business. Medical office, insurance and financial sectors are particularly active in the lakeshore markets.

A few random topics for your consideration this week:

The topic of reuse of no longer desirable real estate is starting to appear more frequently in the media. As I have discussed in several updates, the use of real estate will continue to change as the market desires change. This week, Crain’s discusses the reuse of several sites, including the Holiday Inn in Farmington Hills (discussed here previously), as well as Fairlane Mall (discussed here previously) and Briarwood Mall (also discussed here previously). Watch for reuse of real estate to become a continuing topic as retail and office uses fade.
I am hearing from some individuals who would be in a position to know that the foreclosure “boom” that has been predicted may be a much smaller boom than thought. A combination of governmental assistance, mortgage servicer leniency, and post-COVID economic recovery may make the expected boom more of a small bubble.
The changing desirability of malls is a nationwide issue, and is impacting even one of the most storied and successful urban malls in the country, Water Tower Place in Chicago, which is losing one anchor (Macy’s), and watching a second anchor drastically reduce its footprint (American Girl Place). If Water Tower Place is being this dramatically impacted, perhaps pessimism about even the most successful malls in Michigan is warranted (perhaps even Somerset Collection, the fate of which I discussed previously).

March 15, 2021/in National /by Tracy Willis

Despite foreclosure and Covid-19 relief measures for homeowners, foreclosures are actually on the rise. A report from ATTOM Data Solutions shows a 16% jump in foreclosures from January to February and notes an upward trend in 29 states. The government’s moratorium bans foreclosures on federally backed loans for homeowners and protects borrowers in the forbearance program. Loans on commercial and investment properties, and properties that are vacant and abandoned don’t garner the same protections, accounting for the slight increase. The yearly data still shows a significant decrease in foreclosures over the same period in 2020.