Check out this article in the Grand Rapids Press as well as Mlive.com. It speaks about the outlook for Grand Rapids and all of Western Michigan in regard to the real estate outlook for 2011. This article addresses interest rates and the fact that they are still very attractive, open houses, why you should buy a home now, why sell your home now, and how the Grand Rapids real estate market is reacting to the economy.  The article was written by Cami Reister.  Click here to view the article:

This wonderful Grand Rapids Bungalow has reduced it’s price to $79,900!!! This home is priced to sell!! This is a wonderful 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, finished lower level and so on. This home has a new kitchen, great hardwood floors, deck and a possible 4th bedroom in the basement. A great buy in the Grand rapids real estate market! Click here for more information.

This wonderful cape cod in the Grand Rapids real estate area has just been reduced under $100,000. Don’t miss out on this great value!! If you are looking to buy a home...this could be the one! Interest rates are still at all time lows! Click here to see more info:

Check this article out on AOL real estate. It gives you great information about how to get details about specific neighborhoods in your real estate market. This will help both buyers and sellers as they go to buy or sell their home. Click here to see the video and read the article:

Take a look at this new listing in Grand Rapids. A cute Cape Cod with 3 bedrooms(possibly a 4th) and 2 baths. Great opportunity for first time home buyers in Grand Rapids!!!

Here are a few items form a survey done in 2009 polling home buyers and home sellers in 2009 by the National Association of Realtors.

Here are five highlights:

90% of home buyers use the internet to search for a home.
84% report that photos are the most useful information.
77% purchase their home with an agent.
85% sell their home with an real estate agent.
The median age of all home buyers is 39, same as last year.

Congress took further steps to right the staggering economy by expanding a popular tax credit for homebuyers and extending unemployment checks for the growing legions of people running out of benefits with few job prospects.
The House passed the bill on a 403-12 vote Thursday, a day after the Senate ended a month long stalemate with a 98-0 vote. With some 7,000 people exhausting unemployment benefits every day and the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers set to expire at the end of November, President Barack Obama is expected to quickly sign it into law.
The IRS says some 1.4 million people applied for the homebuyers credit through August, helping enliven the moribund housing market. The legislation would extend the program through June of next year, as long as the buyer signs a contract by the end of April. It also offers a $6,500 tax credit to those who have lived in their current residence at least five years.

The measure doubles the income ceiling for eligible individuals to $125,000. Homes must cost less than $800,000 to qualify.
This is all great news for the economy as this will continue to boost real estate sales and real estate values.

Take a look at this great new listing in Cedar Springs on almost 5 acres which is set up for a horse farm. This home has been updated from floors to walls to kitchen and basement and roof. They are very meticulous in their work and I suggest you make an appointment to see this home. Just click anywhere and take a look.

Don’t miss this great new listing in a highly desirable area just west of Breton Village. This home has been updated with paint, new kitchen, new bathrooms and gleaming hardwood floors everywhere. Just click anywhere, and take a peek!

Home prices rose for the third straight month in August, data Tuesday showed, a key sign for a broad and sustained housing recovery.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities climbed 1 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted reading of 144.5. While prices are down 11.4 percent from August a year ago, the annual declines have slowed since February.

Prices are at levels not seen since August 2003 and have fallen almost 30 percent from the peak in May 2006.

The latest index shows a widespread turnaround with prices rising month-over-month in 15 metro areas since June.

“If the increases are consistent across the markets, this is key,” said Wharton School real estate professor Susan Wachter before the index was released. “Then we’re seeing the formation of a bottom.”

However, Wachter along with other industry experts still worry that rising unemployment and more foreclosures could stifle the rebound. Another unknown is whether a temporary federal tax credit for first-time buyers will be extended to help boost sales.

First-time homebuyers can receive a credit of 10 percent of the sales price, up to $8,000. The real estate industry is lobbying Congress to extend the credit past the Nov. 30 deadline. Top Democrats in the Senate are pressing a plan that would prolong the credit but gradually phase it out over the next year.

Not all metros posted gains in August, though. Prices in Las Vegas, Seattle and Charlotte, N.C., all fell to their lowest levels in August. Prices in Las Vegas have plunged by 56 percent since peaking in April 2006, the largest peak-to-trough decline of all 20 cities.