Don’t we all love an underdog? From Rocky to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team to Butler in recent editions of March Madness. But in real estate, allow this to be the third installment of our love affair with the “comeback kid” – Grand Rapids, Michigan.
You may remember back to January 2011 when Newsweek declared that Grand Rapids a “dying” city. Ouch. That was harsh. And remember how we rallied around the great YouTube video that showed that the town would not take such a debunking lightly? From that point on, I was hooked on Grand Rapids!
So imagine my delight to see that my favorite Michigan city saw its median home price according to the National Association of Realtors increase by 19% in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same time a year ago. Grand Rapids was second in the nation behind Cape Coral/Fort Meyers in Florida that had a 28.1% increase!
To be fair, the Grand Rapids median price is still slightly under $100K but I call that a bargain. In Grand Rapids, you get the Gerald R. Ford, Presidential Museum, minor league hockey and baseball, art, culture and less than an hour to the Lake Michigan beaches!
And we can’t forget one of the best YouTube video of all time!
Image provided by Michigan Municipal League (MML)
Grand Rapids is indeed a great city! You’ve only touched the surface of what it offers, from Art Prize to Rock the Rapids, to incredible craft beers at Founders Brewing… Grand Rapids delivers!
It’s settled. I’m going to have to visit it in person at some point in the near future. Thanks for the comment Matt!