Greetings from Mackinac Island

It’s a beautiful morning on Mackinac Island, and it looks like the last of the clouds have moved off to the East.  For those not familiar with Mackinac, it’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Midwest, and is an island in Lake Huron at the Straits of Mackinac.  No motor vehicles are allowed on the island, so once you get off the ferry, your transport is by foot, bike or horse/horse and carriage.

I’m up here with fellow Directors for the Michigan Association of REALTORS(R), and have enjoyed some great conversation with leaders from around the state already.  This morning Past NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs will be sharing some of her insight with us.  Pat and I are meeting over coffee this morning to talk about the role and potential of social media in association activities.  Pat’s a fantastic example of what you’d like to see in a leader: passionate about her industry, an active listener, eager learner, empowering of others, and fantastically bright.  I take special pride that she’s a part of the Coldwell Banker Schmidt organization as well.

While we’re here to discuss association matters and work to develop a vision for the future of our association, the dinner table conversations are a great opportunity to get a sense of what’s happening in markets all over the state.  The sense I’ve gotten so far is that there is a lot more optimism, and better levels of business are being done by most.  Deals are still full of hurdles and pitfalls, and financing remains a challenge.  Short sales still are a great source of frustration, and while the handling of these by the banks may be improving, it has a long way to go and still is an impediment to successful transactions, especially with large national banks.

Post to Twitter

Michigan hits list of markets with price recovery

This article from Yahoo puts Michigan in the top 3 strongest markets by 2014!

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/housing-markets-that-will-be-strongest-by-2014

Post to Twitter

Weathering the Storm

The recent near blizzard conditions here in Northern Michigan brought to mind the topic of Weathering the Storm.  Like many areas in the country, Michigan’s real estate market has taken a beating.  Honestly, our entire state economy has been struggling.

 The thing about real estate markets, though, is that they’re local.  In our area, we’ve got one county showing a 15% drop in average sales price, while the neighboring county is down only minimally.  SE Michigan continues to struggle mightily, but when that market turns (and it eventually will) we’re going to benifit in the vacation/retirement mecca here in the north.

 So what to do in the meantime?  Work hard, get good listings, make sure they’re priced well, and tell the world about the deals available.  And there are deals!  I’ve got a list sitting in front of me that includes 286 bank owned properties in a 5 county area.  These banks don’t want to sit on these properties- they want them gone, and among these 286 listings are some great deals.  Aside from bank owned properties, there are private sellers who are ready to make someone a very happy owner. 

I’ve literally got one owner right now who is all but begging me to buy his property.  And I might just give in and do it, because it’s a GREAT deal.  But I can’t buy all the great deals, as much as I’d like to.  I need to keep finding buyers who are ready to move when these deals become available.  So that’s what I’ll be working on this week.  Calling contacts and pitching them a deal, one that I should probably take, but so far haven’t.

 I’m really optimistic about the upcoming year.  It’s the buyers turn in the drivers seat, and as prices adjust, buyers can afford more home.  That means more happy buyers, more dreams fulfilled, and more excitement.  And for me, those are the rewards that last, that fill you with hope when deals go bad, that make you smile when you head to the office, that make you feel like you make a real difference.  I’ve said often to friends and family that “I still want to save the world, to make it a better place.”  When dreams get fullfilled, I can see that I’m doing that, bit by bit.

If you want a copy of the list I referenced, or want to be on my “hit list,” send me an email, or post a response.  It’s a great time to be a buyer!

Post to Twitter