In today’s real estate world, the job of a Grand Rapids real estate agent has become much easier with the evolution of the internet. Whether you are a Grand Rapids real estate buyer or a Grand Rapids real estate  seller, the amount of information that is available to the public consumer is endless.

If you are a seller, you can visit numerous major real estate websites and punch in your address and in minutes they will give you their estimate of your homes value. In my opinion, those are not very accurate, but it at least gives them a neighborhood guess of value.

If you are a buyer, again, there are many national and regional and personal websites available for people to do their own real estate searches and find homes that fit their criteria without any agents help at all. And that’s where my story starts.

How many of us Grand Rapids real estate agents pick out homes for our buyers to see? Not many I would guess. But, having said that, it is time to get more involved in what you are going to see with your clients. Too many times, I get a phone call from a buyer and they say they have a list of 14-18 homes that they would like to see on a given Saturday. In the past, I would say, ok, I’ll set them up. No longer.  We need to start asking questions. Does this really fit your criteria? Is this home is a neighborhood, because you told me you wanted a neighborhood with lots of kids? Is it too far out of the city?   This home has all of the bedrooms upstairs; you said you wanted a main floor master bedroom. Do you see where I am going with this?

Now comes the more frustrating part of this discussion. When I get a call to show one of my listings, of course set up the showing as requested. Then, after the showing period has ended, wait to hear from the agent, who doesn’t call, doesn’t email, or even leave a business card, have to hound the agent for feedback. Then, finally, when I do get feedback, I get an answer that frustrates me. They say things like, “ It was on a busy street, it was too far out, the home was not in a neighborhood.” All of those things are very apparent to the seller, and should be apparent to the agent showing the houses that day, but he or she didn’t ask any questions when given the list of homes to look by the buyer. The sellers spend a lot of time getting homes ready for showings and then leaving for the showing period, to come home to no business card and useless feedback, if at all.

Grand Rapids real estate agents….it’s time to better communicate with our buyers, our sellers and most of all, our fellow Grand Rapids real estate agents.

The Sprich Group has just lowered the price on this nice cottage on a great all sports lake only about 45- 55  minutes from Grand Rapids real estate on Dickerson Lake at 116 Lakeview to $149,900.

Here you go….a home/cottage on a beautiful 250 Acre All Sports lake. Dickerson Lake, sitting almost adjacent to Clifford Lake, just a little north of Greenville. A chance to own a year round cottage about an hour from Grand Rapids. This 3 Bedroom, 1 bath home/cottage on 120 feet of Dickerson Lake Frontage Features A New, Large Lakefront Deck, New Laminate Wood Flooring, A Full 2 Car Garage And A 12′x12′ Storage Shed. The Home Is Located At The End Of The Street Insuring Owner Privacy. The Seller Will Include The Adjacent 60′ X 140′ Lakefront Lot Valued At $35,000, With An Acceptable Offer At Close!

Well, it’s been a long time since we could say this, but the Grand Rapids real estate market is hot!!!

The listing inventory for single family homes and Condominiums  is the lowest for the Grand Rapids real estate board since 2006.  We have a total of 4024 properties for sale. that is down 8% from last year and 11% from 2010.

In East Grand Rapids real estate, there are 83 current active listings, both single family and Condominiums and that number is down from a high of 157 back in 2008.

In the Forest Hills school district, which is Grand Rapids Township, Ada Township and Cascade Township, there are currently 261 properties for sale, that is down from a high of over 372 back in 2008.

In the Rockford school district, there are 270 properties currently listed, that is down from over 390 back in 2008.

In the Caledonia school district, there are 156 properties currently listed, down from over 284 in 2008.

What this all means is this:  With less inventory on the Grand Rapids real estate market, and interest rates at all time record lows of between 3-4% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage,  homes are selling and buyers are buying.  So, if you are thinking about jumping into the Grand Rapids real estate  market whether it is buying or selling or both, now is the time. Make sure you choose a Grand Rapids real estate agent that has knowledge of the market and has lived in the area for a good portion of his or her life, because knowledge of the area is as important as knowledge of the real estate market.  Prices are still very attractive, but starting to come up a few percentage points every month and locking into a mortgage at today’s rates is something that we may never see again in the next 50 years.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in the  Grand Rapids real estate market, now is the time to do it!!! The Sprich Group can help you.

The Sprich Group is having an open house today 1349 Thornberry Court from 2-4:00 pm. This Grand Rapids real estate condominium is in Grand Rapids Township, Forest Hills schools.  This is a special one in the desired Bayberry Condo area. Often, there is much redecorating necessary, however, this condo is buy , move in, and enjoy’ condition. light, white walls, soft warm feel throughout. The owner has added perfectly lovely built-ins along an entire living room wall, along with many other surprising ideas and choices. You will love the dining room, spacious kitchen with breakfast nook at the bright windowed wall a built-in bar just off the living room with fireplace and a most inviting den/TV room/sunroom. The master suite completes the main floor. There is a family room with a second fireplace in the lower level, plus 2 more bedrooms(or one bedroom and a large office). A wet bar on this level as well. The location is supurb, wait till you stand on the spacious deck and enjoy the splendid view and privacy.

In an article just posted by CNN Money, the federal government has extended a waiver to let FHA buyers flip houses, in an effort to stabilize the National and local Grand Rapids area housing market. This will help foreclosures from being left on the Grand Rapids real estate market for extended periods of time and help bring the market back to a more stable outlook. For more information about this article on FHA regulations and a link to the article, click here.

Check out this article in The Grand Rapids Press and Mlive.com, by Cami Reister. Home sales are up 3.2% over this time last year and average home sale prices in West Michigan are up over 8% from a year ago. Proof again that the Greater Grand Rapids real estate area is on the rise. It is also proof that the State of Michigan is the #2 state in the country for the fastest recovery from the recession. Here is the link to the article.

Here is a testimonial from a happy East Grand Rapids real estate home buyer and home seller:

Dear Tom,

Pending homes sales have jumped up to their highest level in over a year!! That is a great sign that the Grand Rapids real estate market is finally on it’s way back.

With Grand Rapids real estate market home inventories at it’s lowest since 2006, interest rates at all time record lows, Buyers tired of sitting around and waiting, the Grand Rapids real estate market is showing signs of recovery.

Here is a great article By Meg Handley of US News….The Home Front

Here is a recent testimonial from a happy Grand Rapids real estate client that both bought and sold a home in Rockford with The Sprich Group.