Grand Rapids Township Michigan Real Estate Market Report ~ April 2009

Posted on April 24, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

Current Absorption Rate for Grand Rapids Township homes is 12.59 months,

which means if no new listings come on the market, it will take 12.59 months

to sell the existing inventory of homes. The average sold home price has

dropped about 17% from last month and time on the market is up another

month. If you want your Grand Rapids Township home to sell, it must be in

tip top condition and priced to sell. Otherwise, you could be waiting at least

a year for your home sale to be completed.

Meijer Gardens Entrance

There are 170 Active listings currently for sale.

The average List price is $ 308,115

Average List price $/SqFt $140.47

108 Sold & Pending Grand Rapids Township Homes since 9-15-08.

The average SOLD price is $ 248,308

Average Sold Price /SqFt $121.60

High Sold Price $ 775,000

Low Sold Price $ 57,500

If you have questions about Grand Rapids Township or Grand

Rapids homes, please contact me directly:

1-888-240-1968 ext 0

email: terry@terrywestbrook.com

Grand Rapids -Ada Real Estate – Westbrook Realty

Photo of Frederick Meijer Gardens Entrance by Bonnie Westbrook

Maintenance Tips for a Fast Home Sale ~ Tip # 1 Paint Trim/Doors

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

Maintenance Tips for a Fast Home Sale ~ Tip # 1 Paint Trim/Doors

by Bonnie and Terry Westbrook

If you are considering selling your home, please do your homework!

I mean this literally. Your To-Do List needs to be completed before

you put your home up for sale.

Homes that are in good condition, super duper clean, and have an

attractive street appearance are MUCH more likely to sell than the

average listed home.

Other people want to be able to imagine themselves in your home,

not imagine themselves working every weekend to get the trim

painted, get the front door replaced, and take care of the landscaping.

If your window trim looks like this – you need to scrape it and

repaint.

First with primer, tinted to match your paint [a little painters

secret, if you have the primer tinted a lighter shade of your trim

color, the final coat will cover better than over white and you can

see just where you have painted ]

This window looks like it could use new caulking around the glass, too.

All these little items really make a difference to a buyer. If you ignore the

little things about home maintenance, you probably will ignore the big things.

Be sure that your front door is freshly painted, and the approach to your

home is free of leaves, clutter, and attractive. Trim your lawn edgings, fill

flower pots or boxes, make sure your beds are weeded or have fresh mulch.

You don’t want to lose your buyer’s interest before they even get in the door.

Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty

Watermark Residences Forest Hills MI ~ April 2009 Real Estate Market Report

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

The Residences at Watermark are located on Watermark

Golf Course just south of Cascade Road in Forest Hills School

District. Yes, I play Watermark golf course every chance

I get. Watermark is a premier course with a friendly group

of players, an excellent grounds staff and a great pro shop

staff, as well.

Watermark single family homes and condos are quality built

custom homes, which make this area a very attractive place to

live. Access off both Cascade Road and Spaulding Drive, you

are close to the airport, 28th Street shopping, I96 expressway

and close to Cascade, Ada, & Forest Hills schools and shopping

areas.

Watermark Residences

April 2009 Real Estate Market Report

For Sale: 8

8 active Watermark Homes currently on the market.

Average Current Active List Price is $ 745,763

Average current price per sq ft is $ 251.25

Average days on the market for active listings are 176

The high price is $ 2,700,000 and the low price is $ 179,800.

Sold: 3

There have been 3 Watermark Sold Homes since Sept 1, 2008

The average Watermark Sold Homes price is $ 461,667

The average Watermark Sold Homes price per sq ft is $184.39

The average days on the market for Watermark Sold Homes is 73.

Pending: 0

Expired: 12

At the current rate of sales, we have a 21.33 month Absorption Rate

at the Watermark Residences. This means that it will take 21.33

months for the current listed homes to sell based on the current

rate of sales. Prices are still falling slightly in this subdivision and

sales are very slow. A great time to buy here but if you don’t

have to sell, you would be better off waiting until the local real

estate market rebounds.

If you would like further information about Watermark Residences,

Cascade or Forest Hills Homes, please contact me directly:

1-888-240-1968 ext 0

terry@terrywestbrook.com

Watermark Residences March 2009 Market Report

Watermark Residences December 2008 Market Report

Watermark Residences October 2008 Market Report

Watermark Country Club ~ Pool Time

Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate

photo of Watermark Residences Entrance by Bonnie Westbrook

Meijer Gardens ~ Summer Concert Series 2009

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park announces

2009 Summer Concert Series

Meijer Gardens has a wonderful Outdoor Amphitheater that will host

12 Concerts and a few musical legends in entertainment this summer.

Among those featured that you might know are our own Michigander,

Jeff Daniels, and Lyle Lovett, The Doobie Brothers, and Bonnie Raitt.

I must admit, some of the newer bands are not familiar to me but they

have great web sites!

The 12 Concerts are as follows:

Derek Trucks Band will open the Concert Series on Wednesday, June 10th.

The Avett Brothers will be featured on Thursday, June 18th.

Indigo Girls will bring their Grammy award winning songwriting to the stage

on Wednesday, June 24th.

The Wallflowers will play The Gardens on Monday June 29th.

Neko Case will be performing her trademark vocals on Thursday, July 16th.

Lyle Lovett – Live in Concert on Sunday, July 19th.

Keb’Mo’ will be performing his own brand of blues on Thursday July 23th.

Doobie Brothers, one of America’s most loved rock bands will rockin’ the

house on Wednesday, July 29th.

Jeff Daniels, movie actor, will be singing on Monday, August 3rd.

Earl Scruggs, Bluegrass legend, will be here on Thursday August 13th.

George Thorogood & The Destroyers & Jonny Lang, perform on

Wednesday, August 19th.

Bon Taj Roulet: Bonnie Raitt & Taj Mahal Alone & Together finish

off the concert series on Sunday, August 23rd.

Meijer Gardens Ticket Information Pre-Sale Tickets are available for

Gardens Members – a definite perk of membership.

Grand Rapids Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty

Greening Your Environment Tip # 2 – Go Paperless – Pay online

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

What’s the Impact of Paying Bills Online? : TreeHugger has a great article

that shows exactly how much energy you can save and how it will affect

your local environment. Gone are the days when we can say, “ Oh,

my little contribution doesn’t matter in the overview of environmental

change. Each of us has an impact and we can each change our world

one bill-day at a time.

I went to the Payitgreen.org site and used their green calculator to

see how much I am saving by going online to pay my bills.

In one year, I will save 7# of paper, 65 gallons of water, 3.3 gallons

of gasoline, and 146# of greenhouse gases. WOW!! This amount of

greenhouse gases is equivalent to 144 miles not driven in my car, 2 trees

planted( and grown for 10 years), & 20 square feet of forest preserved

from deforestation.

I had no idea my little effort would make such a dent in our environment.

I’ve paid most of my bills online for quite a while. Won’t you join the

online gang and make your effort at greening our environment a little

bit better?

Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty

Real Estate Absorption Report Kentwood Michigan April 2009

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

Kentwood Michigan is a large suburb of Grand Rapids with a population

under 50,000. It has manufacturing, shopping centers, and lots and lots

of residential housing. Kentwood Public Schools are one of the largest

school systems in the area with over 9000 students and 16 buildings

within a 24.25 square mile area.

Kentwood high school kentwood mi

Kentwood home sales are still on a general downward trend

in price. Over 1/3 of Kentwood Homes Equity has dissolved in

the last 3 years, according to the current stats.

We are still seeing a teeny price erosion from last month’s figures,

again this month.

The homes under $ 150K in Kentwood are seeing the 4-5 times the

sales of the homes over $150K. The homes over $150K may be

priced too high for today’s timid buyers (many of them think prices

will erode still further) or it could be condition. Your list price has to

be close to the sale price or your home just doesn’t get serious

buyer activity. And if you still have the gold shag carpeting,

you will need to upgrade or lower your price if you want to see a

sold sign this year.

In 2006, Kentwood has 495 home sales:avg sold price:$159,788

In 2007, Kentwood had 434 homes sales: avg sold price:$151,009

In 2008, Kentwood had 722 home sales:avg sold price: $115,127

In 2009, Kentwood has had 233 home sales: avg sold price:$92,789

Home sales for Kentwood – $70,000 to $149,999 price range:

141 Active Listings with Avg price $ 126,911.

116 sold since September 2008

40 Pending since last month

Avg sold price $70K-150K $112,369

Avg Days on Market – 103

Home sales for Kentwood – $150,000 to $400,000 price range:

94 Active Listings with avg price of $ 184,422

27 sold since September 2008

5 Pending Sales

Avg sold price $151K-400K $182,374

Avg Days on Market – 115

111 Expired Listings with Avg DOM of 181 days

Kentwood Absorption Rate for this price range is 10 months,

at the current rate of sale (which means if no new listings come

on the market, it will take 10 months to sell the active listed

homes).

Real Estate is always hyper-local. If you have questions about

a specific Kentwood home, please contact me:

phone: 1-888-240-1968 ext 0

or email: Terry@terrywestbrook.com

Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty

Free Arbor Day Celebration ~ Ada Park ~ Ada Michigan

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

Arbor Day Festival Ada Park & Arboretum Free

Saturday, April 25 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Donations accepted

Bring your family out to the Locke Arboretum at Ada Park for this festival

of events to celebrate Arbor Day. Ada Park will be set up with activity

stations for all ages including workshops on tree pruning and care,

backyard wildlife habitats, nature displays, conservation exhibits,

youth crafts and games, wildflower & tree walks and fishing for kids.

Special "tree theme" snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.

One free tree sapling to each family as supplies last.

Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate

Photo of Ada Maple Tree by Bonnie Westbrook

Top Best Buys ~ Kentwood Michigan Condos ~ April 2009

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

We have gathered a list of the top Kentwood Condo

Homes based on price per sq ft. Please note: This list

can change daily as some homes sell, prices are adjusted

and other homes come on the market. The homes

listed below are probably dated and would need

updating with new carpeting, paint, and kitchen-bath

redos at a minimum to bring them to current market

standards. They might need major repair work done,

such as new kitchens, baths & mechanicals.

*Some of these homes may be bank owned foreclosures

and not habitable as is or available for a mortgage in

present condition.*

Check back often or just subscribe to our blog to get

up-to-date local real estate information that

you want to know.

The total square footage is noted here, although only the main

floors are used to figure price per square foot. The lowest

price/Sq Ft range from $33.56 to $63.86 for Kentwood Condos.

April 2009 BEST BUY Condo Homes in Kentwood

Lowest list price is $34.900

highest list price is $89,900

The Top Kentwood Condos to Buy by Price per Square Foot:

268 Carriage Ln SW $ 69,900 1150 Sq Ft $60.78/SqFt

4161 W Saxony Dr SE $ 39,000 1190 Sq Ft $32.77/SqFt

1463 N Saxony Dr SE $50,000 1890 Sq Ft $33.56/SqFt

4165 W Saxony Dr $ 64,900 1750 Sq Ft $51.02/SqFt

4137 E Saxony Dr SE $ 89,900 1847 Sq Ft $59.81/SqFt

648 Andover St SE $34,900 605 SqFt $57.69/SqFt

728 Andover St SE $ 42,750 720 Sq Ft $59.38/SqFt

670 Andover St SE $ 47,000 736 Sq Ft $63.86/SqFt

910 Andover Ct SE $ 43,950 870 Sq Ft $50.52/SqFt

5161 SouthGlow Ct $ 49,000 870 Sq Ft $56.32/SqFt

3893 Villa Montee $49,900 854 Sq Ft $58.43/SqFt

5665 Leisure S #15 $ 54,500 896 Sq Ft $60.83/SqFt

826 Andover Ct SE $ 49,900 870 Sq Ft $57.36/SqFt

5682 Leisure S $54,900 896 Sq Ft $61.27/SqFt

5643 Leisure S $56,500 896 Sq Ft $63.06/SqFt

5125 SouthGlow Ct $55,000 870 Sq Ft $63.22/SqFt

5750 Leisure S #112 $ 54,900 960 Sq Ft $57.19/SqFt

2864 32nd St SE $ 59,900 1100 Sq Ft $54.45/SqFt

3259 Piccadilly Cir $ 74,900 1680 Sq Ft $44.58/SqFt

4299 Walnut Hills#21 $ 67,000 1886 Sq Ft $45.09/SqFt

3362 Pine Meadow $ 85,000 1343 SqFt $63.29/SqFt

2514 Bridgeport Ln $75,000 1650 Sq Ft $45.45/SqFt

3380 Pine Meadow $75,000 1343 Sq FT $55.85/SqFt

*Some of these homes may be bank owned foreclosures and not

habitable as is or available for a mortgage in present condition.*

If you would like a list of top best buys in your area, please

Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty

Go Green Tip # 1~ Use your Local Library

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

I assume we are all trying to do our best at saving the environment and

doing our small part in protecting our planet, but sometimes the obvious

is overlooked.

I am a bibliophile (a.k.a. book-aholic) I love books. I collect books,

I read books. Books area large part of my life. Do I buy books? Yes,

but I usually do the “green “ thing and borrow the latest best seller

from my local library.

Once I have read a novel, I usually don’t reread it. So why waste the

paper, trees, and space to own books for a short period of time.

This has never made sense to me when I could go to the public

library and request anything I could desire to read. I go online in

my jammies and when my requested book comes into my local branch,

they notify me!

Your local public library also has movies on DVDs and books on CD’s

and books on tape. All for free. And by using your local library, you

are making a small effort to improve the environment.

So do the “green thing” with your reading. Visit your local library.

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI

Cascade Township Public Library Photo by Bonnie Westbrook

Top Best Home Buys Lowell Michigan ~ April 2009

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Terry & Bonnie

We have gathered a list of the top Lowell Houses to buy.

Please note that this list can change daily as some homes

sell, prices are adjusted and other homes come on the market.

Check back often or just subscribe to our blog to get

up-to-date local real estate information that you want to know.

top best buys lowell mi homes for sale

The total square footage is noted here, although only the

main floors are used to figure price per square foot.

The top home buys list is longer for Lowell this month.

Great opportunities to buy a Lowell Home at bargain prices.

The lowest price/Sq Ft range from $42.49 to $74.56 in Lowell

Best Buys.

April 2009 BEST BUY Lowell Homes

Lowest list price is $39,900

Highest list price is $316,800

The Top Lowell Homes to Buy by Price per Square Foot:

11216 Bluewater Hwy $ 39,900 920 Sq Ft $43.37/SqFt

11704 E Bear Mdws SE $ 99,900 1400 Sq Ft $71.36/SqFt

11555 Peck Lake Rd $89,900 1310 Sq Ft $68.63/SqFt

11696 E Bear Mdws $89,000 1400 Sq Ft $63.57/SqFt

6459 Kodiak Dr SE $109,998 1635 Sq Ft $67.27/SqFt

323 Sherman St $55,000 1560 Sq Ft $35.26/SqFt

229 N Jefferson St $ 59,900 1100 Sq Ft $54.45/SqFt

319 N Monroe St $ 69,900 1645 Sq Ft $42.49/SqFt

230 S Hudson St $ 74,900 1504 Sq Ft $49.80/SqFt

1012 E Main St $ 74,900 1510 Sq Ft $49.60/SqFt

2060 Conservation Trl $87,500 2036 Sq Ft $42.98/SqFt

206 S Division St $ 99,900 1507 Sq Ft $66.29/SqFt

110 Horatio St #112 $115,000 1612 Sq Ft $71.34/SqFt

216 W Main St#6 $129,000 2100 Sq Ft $61.43/SqFt

2022 Conservation Trl $129,900 1788 Sq Ft $72.65/SqFt

224 N Hudson St $139,900 2240 Sq Ft $62.46/SqFt

8986 36th St SE $316,800 4300 Sq Ft $73.67/SqFt

12327 4 Mile Rd NE $153,800 2200 Sq Ft $69.91/SqFt

3790 Ashley Ave NE $189,900 3800 Sq Ft $49.97SqFt

2946 Whites Bridge Rd $85,000 1320 Sq Ft $64.39/SqFt

1201 Whites Bridge Rd $119,900 2800 Sq Ft $64.46/SqFt

14129 Fulton St E $ 41,400 660 Sq Ft $62.73/SqFt

11177 Woodbushe Dr $64,900 1200 Sq Ft $64.90/SqFt

14109 Fulton St E $ 78,900 1100 Sq Ft $71.73/SqFt

2838 Guildford Dr SE $ 79,900 1600 Sq Ft $49.94/SqFt

3043 Alden Nash Ave $91,900 1400 Sq Ft $65.64/SqFt

1033 Lincoln Lake $113,900 1800 Sq Ft $63.28/SqFt

1333 Cumberland Ave $169,900 2277 Sq Ft $74.62/SqFt

13217 52nd St SE $210,000 2911 Sq Ft $72.14/SqFt

1494 Lincoln Lake NE $ 89,900 1440 Sq Ft $62.43/SqFt

701 Fallasburg Park Dr $170,000 2280 Sq Ft $74.56/SqFt

*Some of these homes may be bank owned foreclosures and

not habitable as is or available for a mortgage in present condition.*

If you have questions about any of these homes, please

Or email : terry@terrywestbrook.com

Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty

Grand Rapids Real Estate

Grand Rapids Real Estate Information

Monthly Archives: April 2009

Grand Rapids Township Michigan Real Estate Market Report ~ April 2009

Maintenance Tips for a Fast Home Sale ~ Tip # 1 Paint Trim/Doors

Watermark Residences Forest Hills MI ~ April 2009 Real Estate Market Report

Meijer Gardens ~ Summer Concert Series 2009

Greening Your Environment Tip # 2 – Go Paperless – Pay online

Real Estate Absorption Report Kentwood Michigan April 2009

Free Arbor Day Celebration ~ Ada Park ~ Ada Michigan

Top Best Buys ~ Kentwood Michigan Condos ~ April 2009

Go Green Tip # 1~ Use your Local Library

Top Best Home Buys Lowell Michigan ~ April 2009