Buyers Can Afford To Be Choosy As Housing Market Slows
/in Detroit, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisWith rising interest rates, the fast and furious pandemic-era housing market has slowed. Metro Detroit home buyers have time to make thoughtful choices. Homes are sitting longer, and buyers are able to take time with inspections and decisions. Buyers’ questions have shifted from “How many offers?” to “Can we get a better deal on this house?” As home prices continue to increase, sales are dropping and homes are sitting on the market longer. The average number of days on the market in September was 29. The median sales price is 2.3% higher than last year. Sales are down nearly 20%.
Nonprofit Tackles Grand Rapids’ Homelessness Issue
/in Grand Rapids /by Tracy WillisMel Trotter Ministries is targeting Grand Rapids’ homelessness issue. The city planning commission recently granted approval to the nonprofit’s plans to rezone three industrial lots on Garden St. SE into a planned redevelopment district. Mel Trotter Ministries plans to build a mixed-use tiny home development called Hope Village. It will include 16 detached tiny homes and the redevelopment of a vacant two-story industrial building to add 10 workforce apartments upstairs. The ground level will be used for amenities, social services and offices and space for light industrial tenants. They tiny home will be 240 to 480 square feet. They will be available to tenants who make 20 to 40 percent of the area median income. They will also come with a path to ownership.
Rising Mortgage Rates Continue to Cool Housing Market
/in SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisAccording to a report by RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan, metro Detroit’s home sales were down 20% in September when compared to the previous year. This year’s rising mortgage rates have slowed the home-buying craze that started in the summer of 2020. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.66% last week. It was just under 3% a year ago. The average home sale price over the four-county region (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston) was 2% higher than a year ago. The slowing market appears to be normalizing things, with buyers making fewer concessions than in the previous year.
Cities Rethink Parking Rules
/in Detroit, National, SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisThe city of Ann Arbor recently voted to remove all minimum off-street parking requirements. Detroit is reviewing its zoning code, possibly implementing new rules regarding how many parking spaces are needed for uses like housing, retail and industrial. Both examples are part of a growing trend in Michigan and around the U.S. as cities rethink their parking rules. Complying with Detroit’s parking requirements is a pain and poses a threat to business growth. Some Detroit-area businesses and organizations think the parking minimums are old-fashioned and block the development of vibrant neighborhoods. Others remain skeptical of entirely scrapping all parking minimums.
Amazon Pivots, Cancels Warehouse Plans in Ypsilanti Township
/in SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisAfter years of expansion in southeast Michigan, Amazon has begun scaling back by scrapping its plans for a new warehouse building in Ypsilanti Township. The plan had called for a 183,200-square-foot facility and had been dubbed “Project Yoga.” The cost of the project was $21.4 million and was to be constructed on about 30 acres of a 120-acre parcel. Amazon has also indefinitely postponed it’s plans to build a new facility in Pittsfield Township. Amazon’s footprint in the region includes about 13 million square feet or more and includes redevelopments of the former Pontiac Silverdome site and the former Michigan State Fairgrounds property in Detroit. It’s finalizing construction on a Canton Township facility in the coming weeks.
Birmingham Place Property Sells to Bacall Companies LLC
/in SE Michigan /by Tracy WillisBacall Companies LLC has purchased the office and retail portion, as well as some of the parking portions, of the Birmingham Place property in downtown Birmingham for $37 million. The purchased closed Wednesday afternoon and is the third the company has made in Birmingham’s downtown. They’ve also purchased the property at 380 N. Old Woodward Ave. and the Huntington Center office building at 220 Park St. The purchased portion is between 107,000 and 108,000 square feet with 96 percent leased. Conway MacKenzie, Sotheby’s International Realty and Brooks Wilkins Sharkey & Turco PLLC are the current key office tenants. The purchase doesn’t include the 142 condominiums on the building’s top floors.