Single Family Property Renters More Likely To Purchase A Home

Freddie Mac  (the Federal  Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) released a report last week indicating that renters living in a detached house, a condo or a townhouse (a single family rental, or SFR)  were more likely to purchase a home than a renter in an apartment community.

Overall, 55% of renters responded that they intend to continue renting for the next three years. When the data is broken down into the categories above, however, 55 percent  in a SFR intended to buy a house in the next 3 years, where only 36 percent of apartment dwellers (multifamily renters) said the same.

Of course, rental satisfaction plays a large role in this decision.  68 percent of renters claiming to be happy with their rental experience plan to continue renting vs. 32 percent that intend to buy a home.  Apartment renters reporting a happy experience were at 67%, compared to 60% of SFR renters.  This may be due to the fact that apartment communities often have on-site daily management tending to repairs and issues, where many SFR renters have to deal directly with an individual landlord.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that renter households is up again for the 10^th straight year.

Image courtesy of Stuart miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Lakeshore Pointe in Howell Michigan

Lakeshore Pointe is a community of about 248 homes just off Golf Club Rd, between Grand River Avenue and Eager Rd.  Minutes from Chemung Hills Golf Club, downtown Howell and the new retail area developing around Latson/Grand River/I-96 interchange, this is a great location within the Howell school district.

There are some lakefront homes, but most are not.  All have lake access, however. The community has resident-only waterfront parks, picnic areas, walking trails and two marinas on all sport Thompson Lake.  There is no through traffic and the occasional speed bump on the private roads keeps things quiet.

The Homeowner's Association (HOA) does have architectural/aesthetic, vehicle storage,and landscaping guidelines and is professionally managed by a local property management company.

As of this post, there are five active listings, five pending listings and in the last 12 months there have been twelve recorded sales.  Only one sale was a distressed (bank-owned) property and because distressed homes are usually sold at a wide discount, it is removed from the stats below.

Two of the five active listings are larger lakefront homes.  They average out to a list price of $166/square foot while the three smaller, non-lakefront homes are at $126/square foot in price.

The 11 non-distressed sold properties were an average of 1807 sq ft (finished basement space excluded) and sold for 97% of the original list price and 99% of the last list price, at $129/square foot. On average, they took 83 days to sell.

Original List Price	$240,627
Last List Price	$236,618
Sales Price	$234,258

Generally, overpricing makes your competition look better and takes longer to sell your own home. You must always take updates into account when determining your listing price.

If you're thinking about selling in Lakeshore Pointe, or in the larger Howell area, call me for a detailed analysis of your neighborhood's prices and marketability.

Photo credit: Robert Smith, copyright 2015

Today Is World Mosquito Day

Who knew that there was a day set aside for the Michigan State bird?  Just kidding, but some years it feels that way.  Today is World Mosquito Day, established in 1897 to raise awareness about the causes of malaria and how it can be prevented.  In this part of the world, there are worse things that get transmitted by mosquitos than malaria.

Use today to review your personal environment.  Do you have areas that catch and hold water accidentally?  If you can’t change that, perhaps a mosquito trap would work.  You can also visit the American Mosquito Control Association for more information and tips.

image courtesy of vectorolie/freedigitalphotos.net

August 19th is Photography Day

Yes, August 19^th is Photography Day. Are you an amateur, a pro, a hobbyist?  Doesn’t matter if you don’t have a great camera, you’ve got a phone, right?  Celebrate Photography Day by taking pictures of something different today.  A cloud formation, a bird, your garden, even a funny bumper sticker.  Then post it online. It doesn’t matter where, the idea is to participate.

So get out there and shoot a few pictures and post them to celebrate Photography Day.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Howell Melon Festival – August 14-16th

Get ready to have some fun!  Howell’s Melon Festival starts tomorrow!  The Melon Run features a 5K/10K, a 1 mile run, a Tot Trot and a Mascot Dash – a 100 yard out and back course by mascots sponsored by local businesses.

There’s a Bike Ride, live entertainment, children’s events, a fine arts show, car show, steam train rides, and more.  Check out the full roster of events at http://www.howellmelonfestival.com/and come out and visit Downtown Howell.

And if you're looking to purchase a home in Howell, give me a call!

image courtesy of Howell Melon Festival

India Pale Ale (IPA) Day – August 7th

It must be an omen that IPA Day falls on Friday this year.  If you’re into craft brews, you know what an IPA is all about.  For those into other types of drinks, here’s a quick explanation of an IPA.  The important letter is the ‘A’ – for ale. No, wait, it’s the ‘I’. I guess they’re all important now that I think about it.

Way back, the 18^th Century to be exact, Britain ruled the waves.  Sailors found that beer didn’t quite survive the long trips o’er the seas so a London brewer (attributed largely to George Hodgson) developed a highly hopped, pale in color ale that could survive the voyage. (Sailors often drank the darker porters of the time.) Of course, the trip to India was a long one (6 months), and there many voyages there, so the new beer was coined India Pale Ale. (For an interesting read on this topic, check out this article on the Smithsonian site.)

Today, most local micro- and craft-breweries have at least a few versions of IPA on their list, as well as it’s cousin the American Pale Ale. And there’s no shortage of local or regional brewed and bottled IPA’s either. Most supermarkets have a pretty decent selection of craft beers from which to choose.

If you’re in the Livingston County area, a couple of my favorites are the D.I.P.A. (double IPA) at Brewery Becker, in DowntownBrighton, and the Torn In 2 IPA at Eternity Brewing in Genoa Township (Howell zip code). Not to leave out a local brewery, if you stop in at Block Brewing in Howell, their Hop Genius IPA is first rate, too!  If you celebrate #IPAday, please drink responsibly. Most craft brews are higher in alcohol content than production beers, so they often pack more of a punch. Breweries usually list the ABV figures on their menu for reference. 

This is a great way to unwind after a long day of viewing homes, too.  And if I can help you with real estate questions, feel free to contact me.

Photo credit Bob Smith, Torn in 2 IPA, Eternity Brewing, Howell, MI