Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! And to my friends in Canada, I hope you enjoyed Canada Day with William and Kate!
I spent the long weekend with my wife, kids and grandchildren at a lake cottage in Michigan. It was a fantastic break from the rigors of work.
But I can’t say I escaped work completely. And being in Michigan allowed me to reflect on a recent conversation I had with Kelly Sweeney who heads Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel which has operations throughout Southeastern Michigan.
I guess it is fair to say that this region, dominated by Detroit, has drawn a lot of publicity for its challenging economy and housing issues over the last several years. But it’s interesting that the focus on the downturn is not being met with the same sort of enthusiasm for emerging bright spots. Home prices in some parts of the area are starting to rise and buyers are returning to the marketplace. In some towns, the supply of available homes is as low as 3 ½ months, a far cry from the national average of about 9 months. Kelly even talked of multiple instances where sellers are receiving multiple bids for their properly-priced homes. And, in amazing communities like Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and others, there is a thriving luxury homes marketplace.
And as the Detroit Tigers draw crowds as they remain in the hunt for the American League Central Division title (let’s go White Sox!), it’s also interesting to note that the Renaissance Center downtown is attracting young couples and empty-nesters eager to enjoy downtown living. And twenty minutes from the airport you have Ann Arbor which is one of the top college towns in the nation (Go Illini!).
And even on 8 Mile, the road made popular by Eminem and long considered the divide between the city of Detroit and its more affluent suburbs, there appears to be positive signs of re-birth with contracts being inked for a major retail center.
Clearly, there seems to be something happening in Southeastern Michigan. Hopefully this “something” continues and the entire region can play a big role in the improvement of our nation’s economy.
Photo courtesy of Flickr
Interesting that when agents cut through all the negative headlines, they can find some bright spots for their clients. For the past 22 years I have in real estate in Silicon Valley, I am consistently amazed that a "Bad Market" to a realtor almost always means that housing prices are dropping. However, since almost all agents I know work with both buyers and sellers, why do agents tend to be so negative, as they have a great opportunity to show how good of an agent they really are.
Detroit sounds like it's a perfect example of an area that has been hit hard over the years, but is now poised to offer some great opportunities for savy buyers ( represented by agents at the #1 real estate company in the United States)!
I was doing some research on British estate agents when I came across your blog. Just thought I’d say hello.
I would love to get your feedback on how British estate agents are using technology and social media media to grow their business?