I heard this on the news this morning.It was on the national news. I didn't think much of it at first, ofcourse sales dropped in July from June, the first time buyer tax credit expired! They even said that on the news. So this shouldn't be any huge news, right? Not exactly what I wanted to hear, especially after the positive blog I posted yesterday Metro Detroit, Michigan in Top 10 Housing Markets of the Future! but hey, like I always say ---- the market is what the market is. But wait a minute, real estate is local right? You bet it is! I was curious as to what the market conditions were for all of Macomb County for July compared to June. So I did some research on my local mls and to be honest, I wasn't sure what the results would be. Higher than the national average? Lower? Somewhere... 08/25/2010

Finally! Here's some good news for a change, when talking about Michigan real estate. Bloomberg is reporting that Metro Detroit is ranked #3 in the Top 10 Housing Markets of the Future! Real estate prices are expected to rise 33.1% over the next 4 years.   I've been blogging forever that these prices won't remain this low. Could this report be accurate? I certainly hope so, I believe we will come out of this depressed real estate market before other areas will, because the market dropped way before many of the other states / areas.   With interest rates at UNBELIEVABLE lows, and values still down, there couldn't be a better time to buy a house if you are in the market for one. Don't be left sitting on the fence!     photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net     08/24/2010

                                                                                                                                                  I'm still amazed at the price buyers are able to get a St. Clair Shores canal or lakefront home for! With interest rates at record lows, that makes it a great time to purchase a St. Clair Shores waterfront home!                                                                             .                 Here are the stats from the first half of the year 18 closed transactions from Jan 1, 2010 to June 30,2010 5 were Lakefront and the remaining 13 were canal front the average sale price of those 18 homes was $219,322 there are currently 3 waterfront homes under contract - Pending as of July 12,2010    Currently there are 17 waterfront homes on ... 07/13/2010

Not only is boating season underway, but spring and summer are traditionally the busy time in real estate. If you're trying to sell your Lake St. Clair waterfront or canal front home this is the time of year. While it's true, homes do sell all year long and yes even in our rough Michigan winters, still the optimal time when   waterfront buyers are looking is right now! With that being said, here are a few tips to help get your home sold!       There's an old saying that the 3 most important things in real estate is: Location, Location, Location. Not so true anymore, not in this market and this economy. While its true location is still an important factor, my 7 + years of experience have shown me that the 3 most important things in no particular order are: Location, Price & Condition   ... 07/12/2010

Here is a quick overview of the St. Clair Shores real estate market as of July 8, 2010   The St. Clair Shores market has a 6 month supply of inventory (homes) on the market. This would be considered a neutral or average market. I would say buyers still have somewhat of an advantage however.   If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a free Listingbook account.       Information deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed. Information taken from MiRealSource multiple listing service. Above sales were sold by agents and/or brokers. These statistics do not include for sale by owners. Selling prices did not include any ... 07/09/2010

    © 2010 Mike Mitchell    If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a free Listingbook account.       07/07/2010

To all of my current and past clients, friends, family and Active Rain members:                                                                                                                                       WISHING YOU A HAPPY AND SAFE                                                               If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a free Listingbook account.                                              07/03/2010

© 2010 Mike Mitchell    If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a free Listingbook account.     06/23/2010

My last market report for St. Clair Shores real estate focused on the number of homes closed for May 2010. Here is a quick overview of the St. Clair Shores real estate market as of June 11, 2010 There are currently 374 single family homes on the market available (active) There are currently 35 bank owned foreclosures on the market available (active) There are currently 9 HUD Homes on the market available (active) Prices range from $16,000 to $989,000 The St. Clair Shores market has a 6 month supply of inventory (homes) on the market. This would be considered a neutral or average market. I would say buyers still have somewhat of an advantage however.   If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email an... 06/11/2010

© 2010 Mike Mitchell    If you are in the market to buy or sell real estate in St. Clair Shores or the surrounding Macomb County area, give me a call or email and I'd be happy to assist you. To start searching for homes for sale, sign up for a free Listingbook account.   06/09/2010

I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, I've been subtly adding our new name in my posts. GMAC The Kee Group is now REAL LIVING KEE REALTY! I'm actually pretty excited about the new brand and I'm looking forward to completely transferring over in the coming month and also looking forward to some of the new technology that will be available to me through Real Living. Check out our commercial that will be airing on channel 7   06/04/2010

What's happening in the Shores real estate market? Well there are currently 382 single family homes on the market (as of 6/3/10) ranging in price from $16,000 bank owned investor specials all the way to $989,000 Lakefront homes. There were 76 homes that closed in the month of May.                                            the average list price was $86,523 the average sale price was $80,276 Of those 76 closings there were 2 St. Clair Shores canal front homes and 1 St. Clair Shores Lakefront home that closed in May.   If you'd like to start looking for homes in St. Clair Shores or anywhere in Macomb County sign up for a free Listingbook account and search the mls on your own personal website! Absolutely FREE!   06/03/2010

If you love Lake St. Clair you'll want to check out this new site! Lake St. Clair Living is an online magazine focused on activities, events, lifestyles and info on Lake St. Clair. Lake St. Clair Living also features: Dining and Entertainment Healthy Living section Message boards Business directories New & Events & a whole lot more! I was asked to write a real estate article about waterfront real estate for Lake St. Clair Living last month when the web site was launched. I am thrilled to be a part of this teriffic online magazine. Look for more of my real estate articles in the future. Whether it's boating, fishing, dining, entertainment or local news and events  .... if it's in and around Lake St. Clair you'll find it there! Check it out & please help keep our lake clean.     05/13/2010

   As a kid, in my house: If the garage was open, the radio was on tuned to 760 am and Ernie broadcasting the Tigers game. It didn't matter if nobody was out there, if the garage door was open, the Tiger game was on the radio. If someone was working in the yard, Ernie and the Detroit Tigers game was tuned in. If a neighbor was out working in the yard, you would hear Ernie Harwell in the distance calling the Tiger game. Summer evenings sitting on the back porch, Tigers game was always on.     Listening to the local sports radio shows this week after the passing of Ernie Harwell I heard a lot of people calling in and sharing their favorite lines Ernie would call during a game.   My favorite line from Ernie would have to be and he stood there like the house by the side of the road My other... 05/07/2010

This is it folks. The clock is ticking, the Tax Credit is expiring on April 30th. You still have 2 weeks to get a home under contract ( signed, accepted offer) and claim the tax credit. The home you are purchasing must be under contract by April 30th and must close by June 30th One thing I've noticed in talking with buyers is that most did not know for the tax credit, a first time buyer is described as someone who hasn't owned a primary residence in the past 3 years. Do you qualify for the tax credit ?   If you'd like to start looking for homes in St. Clair Shores or anywhere in Macomb County sign up for a free Listingbook account and search the mls on your own personal website! Absolutely FREE!                  Mike Mitchell -REALTOR®                                                    ... 04/16/2010

O.k. so talk has been really quiet about any extension for the tax credit. I personally do not think it is going to get extended this time like it did in November. That leaves you 30 days to find a house and get it under contract if you still want to take advantage of either the First time buyer $8,000 credit or the $6,500 Move Up buyer tax credit. You must have the home under contract by April 30th You must close on the home by June 30th Check out Home Buyer Tax Credit for more info and faq's.   Again, it does not appear that it is going to be extended this time, I will be watching closely and if it does I will post it on my blog.   If you'd like to start looking for homes in St. Clair Shores or anywhere in Macomb County sign up for a free Listingbook account and search the mls on your... 03/31/2010

That's a question I used to hear a lot while working with buyers. It used to be that whenever you bought a house, buyers were very concerned how much their taxes would go up once they bought it. The dreaded pop up tax, as they called it. With state equalized values dropping, many times there is no more pop up tax. One nice tool to get an estimate as to what the taxes would be on a home you are considering to purchase is https://treas-secure.state.mi.us/ptestimator/ptestimator.asp                                                                                       It's very user friendly, just put in the SEV, the county and the school district and it will estimate what the homestead and non homestead taxes will be.     If you'd like to start looking for homes anywhere in Macomb County, ... 03/30/2010

Don't Forget to Spring Forward and move your clocks an hour ahead this Sunday, March 14th at 2 a.m. officially. Yeah, we will lose an hour of sleep when we wake up Sunday morning, but just think, we will have an extra hour of daylight in the evenings! Think spring ..... summer's coming soon! If you'd like to start looking for homes in St. Clair Shores or anywhere in Macomb County sign up for a free Listingbook account and search the mls on your own personal website! Absolutely FREE!                  Mike Mitchell -REALTOR®                                                                GMAC The Kee Group Direct: (586)291-2652  http://www.mmhomesearch.com/     03/13/2010

That's right, if you want to take advantage of the First Time Buyer Tax Credit or the Move Up Buyer Tax Credit you must have a home under contract by April 30th, 2010. If you were hoping to take advantage of this and you haven't started looking for homes yet, you better contact a REALTOR a.s.a.p. and start your home search! A Few Highlights about the Tax Credit First Time Buyers can get a tax credit of 10% of the sales price up to $8,000 Move Up / Repeat Home Buyers can get a tax credit of 10% of the sales price up to $6,500 You must have a binding sales contract on a home by April 30, 2010 You must close on that contract by June 30, 2010 I personally do not think this tax credit is going to be extended like it was last November. Check out Home Buyer Tax Credit for more info and faq's. ... 03/01/2010

I wanted to do a market report for St. Clair Shores waterfront homes for the whole year of 2009. While researching my data I was curious as to exactly what the difference was compared to say, 2005. I had a pretty good idea, in fact I was right on, but wanted to see the raw numbers to be sure. I broke them down into two categories. Lake Front Homes and Canal Front Homes. Saint Clair Shores LakeFront Homes closed in 2009              v                       closed in 2005 Number of homes closed = 8                                        * Number of homes closed = 11 Average List Price = $393,550                                       *Average List Price = $638,418 Highest List Price = $624,900                                        *Highest List Price = $1,250,000 Lowest List Price = 200,0... 01/05/2010