Great business opportunity in the East Hills Neighborhood. Rehab or development. Currently vacant.
Tag Archive for: Grand Rapids
A long term project of GVSU, overseen by Jeremy Pyne, geographic information systems manager at the Johnson Center, has just released new data on neighborhoods in West Michigan.
You can compare your neighborhood score to others in town, even output a custom report based on a specific home’s location.
The first phase of the CRI Community Profiles 2.0 aims to build upon CRI’s existing work in housing and economics within the City of Grand Rapids and to further the development and use of neighborhood information and data systems in local policymaking and community building.
This tool allows you to:
- Map housing and economic patterns within a community or neighborhood
- Compare multiple neighborhoods and indicators simultaneously
- Trend information over time and across geographies
- Score neighborhoods based on multiple indicators
- Generate profile reports for your defined or customized geographic areas; and
- Save all of your work through a registered account for future access.
Here’s an excerpt from a great article about West Michigan’s economic recovery published last week in Rapid Growth GR.
Here’s the follow-up article about wages, which suggests an across-the-board wage increase to invest in our local economy.
“Household income is up, nearly 10% in the last year alone. We’re almost caught up to the national average in household income. But apparently that’s not good enough for local pundits.
“Home sales in the Grand Rapids area are at a record high. Homes (listings) on the local real estate market are at an all time low, at about 2.9 months of inventory (ask your Realtor what that means). We’ll give you a hint: homes priced competitively are being snatched up at a breakneck pace. Homebuilders are seeing a pace of construction they haven’t seen in about 6 or 7 years. But apparently still not good enough.
“Apartments in the Grand Rapids metro area are, according to many sources, going on waiting lists. Downtown developer 616 Development has reported that they have close to 800 people on a waiting list for the 50 or so apartments they have under development. Suburban apartment complexes are reporting similar situations. Still not good enough.”
More here.
Feel like you just can’t find the right house for sale in this market?
163 new rehabs could be hitting the market later this year.
FULL ARTICLE: “[Kent County] Land Bank Has a Decision to Make”
EXCERPT from the Grand Rapids Business Journal:
“Grand Rapids City Commissioner James White voted with the majority last week to transfer and sell 163 tax-foreclosed properties in the city to the Kent County Land Bank Authority because the action would provide plenty of work for small construction companies and remodelers.
“Now it’s up to the KLCBA board members to put those firms to work.
“The land bank board will meet Wednesday to decide whether to enter into a purchase and development agreement with the city. If board members agree to buy all the properties — of which the vast majority are residential — the organization will have to pay the city $1.182 million for the parcels by July 19 and redevelop or sell all 163 within 18 months.
“KCLBA Executive Director Dave Allen told commissioners last week that could be done and he felt most would be sold by the end of the year.”
More info on Kent County Land Bank: http://kclba.org/
By Pete Bruinsma
Great news for people in West Michigan, the real estate market is finally recovering!
According to research on sold homes within the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors data range, February is when this year’s Spring market really kicked in, showing a 40% increase in sales volume in the region as compared to the year before.
Current reports show that the strengthening of West Michigan market will continue. Not only are total number of homes increasing, but value is also increasing. This is a good sign for people worried about foreclosures dragging down prices, bad news for those looking to capitalize on home flips and property investments.
GRAR stats from May 2011 show that 1100 homes were sold in West Michigan, as compared to 1400 in May 2012. Total sales volume in May of 2011 was $123 Million as compared to $180 Million this year. That’s a 20% increase in number of homes sold, and a 32% increase in value.
June continues to be a hectic month for Realtors in the area, and listings continue to sell.
The numbers above are a good indicator that West Michigan is selling fewer “fire sale” listings, and more on normal terms. So how do these numbers translate to property value? CNN Money predicts that the average home in West Michigan will appreciate by 3.6% in the next year. People in West Mighigan, get ready for your homes to start appreciating again!
All Rights Reserved, © Pete Bruinsma 2012
The City will be applying for a DNR Trust Fund grant in March, 2011. That grant requires a 25% local match. Before we turn to our local foundations for help with the match, we want to show the great local support from the people who will be using this green space. We need you to be part of the park by investing in your park.
From the Facebook page: “The parking lot at the corner of Madison and Pleasant is on its way to being converted to a park. The land has been acquired by the City of Grand Rapids in a three-way land swap deal with Kenty County and DeVries Development. The Feb. 20 design charette produced a beautiful plan for the site. Now it will be added to the City’s master plan for parks. But that’s not the end; it’s just the beginning. Now we need to make sure this beautiful idea becomes a reality.”
More at Friends of Grand Rapids Parks.
Greg Gilmore’s proposed concert venue and festival marketplace known as BOBville has received a go-ahead financing kick from Grand Rapids DDA. Last Wednesday the Board approved over $2.5 million in support for some major downtown projects, including $432,000 for the new entertainment structure next to the BOB.
Last Wednesday the Grand Rapids DDA Board approved over $2.5 million in support for some major downtown projects. The Downtown Urban Market project will receive $1,067,445 out of future tax revenue it generates.
$850,000 will be used to design and construct a new AMTRAK station just south of The Rapid Central Station. The new station will be larger and will eliminate the traffic stoppages that currently occur twice a day on Wealthy and Market streets when the train is being boarded.