Michigan Real Estate News

Timely  |  Relevant  |  Informative

Soured Chicago Land Deal Upsets Public

/in , /by

Justin Ishbia, the brother of the CEO of Pontiac-based United Wholesale Mortgage, has reneged on a land swap deal with a suburban Chicago park district. Ishbia and his wife bought the 261 Sheridan Road property in November 2020. The property  stands between Elder Lane park and Centennial park. They negotiated a land swap deal with the Winnetka Park District officials, promising to turn the Sheridan Road property over to park district officials in exchange for the southern section of Centennial Park. Residents are urging park district officials to take the multimillion-dollar lakefront parcel by eminent domain. The land swap deal fell apart under public scrutiny of the deal the park officials made with Ishbia.

 

Cookie-Cutter Duplexes Could be Making a Comeback

/in /by

Remember pattern book or catalog homes? Returning to classic home patterns could increase the number of multi-family units across the state, potentially adding new housing and more density while new single-family construction slows down. The Michigan Municipal League is proposing pattern-book homes that take one back to the days of the catalog homes that were built across metro Detroit a 100 years ago. Pattern-book homes include blueprints for duplexes, triplexes and quads, creating lower-cost housing units in neighborhoods. According to the Michigan Municipal League’s program manager, pattern-book homes could fill the housing option gap. T

 

 

Detroit’s Satellite Suburbs Boom With New Home Construction

/in , /by

Outer-ring suburbs are booming with new residential construction and newly paved roads despite the rising interest rates that are causing the resale home market to slow. According to census data, more than 3,000 new single-family homes were ok’d to be built from January to July of 2022. New construction in satellite suburbs of larger cities is a national trend. Rising interest rates have had an effect on the new-home market. New-home permits are down 10 to 15 percent from last year, but the demand isn’t gone. Lower lumber prices and the continued high demand for housing have helped builders.