This report will look back over the last 18 months and show you how the Grand Rapids Real Estate Market has progressed. The areas will be Kent, Ottawa, Barry, and Montcalm Counties. It will show the Average Sales Price, Number of Homes for Sale, Number of Closed Sales, Number of Pended Sales, and the Average Days on Market. You’ll appreciate where real estate was and where it is now with a look back to January 1, 2009. The Grand Rapids Real Estate Market was still 2-3 years from recovering from the Great Recession. So hang on to your hats as were getting ready to blast off into the exciting world of real estate.
Average Sales Price for Kent, Ottawa, Barry and Montcalm Counties
Below is a graph showing the Average Sales Price for Single Family Homes and Condominiums over the last 18 months for Kent, Ottawa, Barry, and Montcalm Counties. Kent Co. appreciated 21%, Ottawa Co. appreciated 10%, Barry Co. appreciated 20%, Montcalm Co. appreciated 17% over the last 18 months.
Number of Homes For Sale For for Kent, Ottawa, Barry and Montcalm Counties
Number of Homes For Sale For for Kent, Ottawa, Barry, and Montcalm Counties. Notice the Kent Co. number of homes for sale in June 2018 and June 2019 there is a negative 64 home difference and Ottawa Co. has a positive 58 home for sale difference. June 2015 Kent Co. Homes for Sale were 2696 and Closed Homes were 1103. Ottawa Co Homes for Sale were 1688 and Closed Homes were 466. This Graph will show why real estate prices are continuing to rise and will continue to rise for the near future, as long as the inventory remains low.
Number of Closed Sales For for Kent, Ottawa, Barry and Montcalm Counties
2019 Closed Home Sales for all 4 counties are relatively the same as 2018. The relatively same number of home sales from 2018 to 2019 but the number of Homes for Sale are down, now you are getting the reason for double-digit appreciation.
Number of Pended Sales For for Kent, Ottawa, Barry and Montcalm Counties
The number of pended sales comparing June 2018 to June 2019 are relatively the same. Again with lower levels of homes for sale.
Average Days on The Market for Kent, Ottawa, Barry, and Montcalm Counties
Overall Days On Market is pretty constant from June 2018 and June 2019
10 Years of Closed Sales and Homes for Sale for Kent, Ottawa, Barry, and Montcalm Counties.
The Number of Closed Sales for the 4 counties are up from June 2009 to June 2019.
My Conclusion
After looking at the last 18 months for the above graphs, my conclusion or prediction that home prices will continue to rise. The reason for this is low inventory and the graphs prove that fact. I know I sound like a broken record but look at the appreciation over the last 18 months. Every county that is on this post has shown double-digit appreciation. Call it a perfect storm. Low inventory, lower than normal interest rates combine that with the steady rise in rental rates is like throwing gas on an open fire…KABOOM!
Need more Proof?
Grand Rapids No. 4 in Ranking of Best Cities for First-Time Home Buyers
By Brandon Champion | bchampio@mlive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Those looking to purchase a home for the first time would be wise to consider Grand Rapids.
That’s based on data from a Wallethub study, which ranked Beer City USA as the 4th best city in America for first-time home buyers.
Released on July 9, the study examined compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 27 key indicators including market attractiveness, affordability, quality of life, real-estate taxes and property-crime rate.
Grand Rapids, which was named the 3rd best city for first-time homebuyers by Lending Tree in 2018, was buoyed by its real-estate market rank of 14 in the Wallethub study.
That category examines several metrics including the number of homes sold in a year, real estate agents per capita, the homeownership rate of millennials and building permit activity.
Buying their first home, millennials put down roots in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids was also ranked 39th in affordability and 116th in quality of life. It is also noted for having one of the highest median home price appreciation, as is Dearborn.
Tampa, Overland Park, Kansas, Thornton, and Colorado were the only cities ranked ahead of Grand Rapids.
Flint and Lansing are noted in the study as having among the lowest costs of living in the United States.
Detroit has one of the highest real estate tax rates, according to the study, and Sterling Heights has one of the lowest property crime rates in America.
You can see the complete study here
