On the Move - City2Shore Gateway Group February 2023

Allendale Area Real Estate Blog
The real estate data for 2022 is in. The Greater Grand Rapids area started off hot, but cooled as the year progressed. The slowing of the real estate market helped it stabilize at a “new normal” which is actually a good thing for buyers.
Closed home sales in 2022: 34,441  <-12.6% from 2021>
Listed homes in 2022: 40,552    
Average Days on Market:  < + 22.2% > (good news for buyers)
Median sale price in 2022:  $336,250   < +31.4% over 2021 > (great news for sellers)
Ottawa County 2022 review:
3,463 homes sold/closed <-11% over 2021 >
81% were Single family homes; 18.9% Townhomes/Condos; Average days on Market was 21 days.
Allendale only: 276 homes closed < -11.8% from 2021 > 90.9% single family and average days on market was 25 days.  In Allendale, Homes sold for 102.2% of list price.
Sadly for 2022 there was only an average of 1.3 months of real estate inventory. This means demand still far outweighed supply of homes in 2022.  This kept the market a strong sellers’ market for all of 2022. Historically, a healthy or balanced market would have approximately 6 months of inventory between sellers and buyers. Buyers did see a loosening in purchase options. Unlike in 2020-2021 buyers were often allowed inspections and other forms of sale contingencies in their offers.

 


Unprecedentedly low mortgage interest rates in 2020 and 2021 saw a sharp rise in rates in 2022. Those rates still never reached a 20-year average which means they are still historically low.  Many buyers in their 40’s and 50’s or older recall mortgage rates well above 10%.  The rates in 2022 peaked at just over 7% and based on my research the mortgage lending companies see the rates staying in or near the 5% range for most of 2023. This is more good news for home sellers and buyers alike.    Cont’d.
The question I get asked most is: “Should I buy a house in 2023?” my answer is ABSOLUTELY! Remember, rental rates are continuing to climb and paying rent is like paying 100% interest. There are many first-time buyer programs available now and this will be a great year to stop paying rent.
The statistics provided are from the US Census Bureau, National Association of Realtors, Multi Listing Service and the Greater Regional Alliance of Realtors (GRAR).

Geoff Brown is a West Michigan residential and commercial real estate broker, owner, and investor.  Geoff is the owner of City2Shore Gateway Group Real Estate located in Allendale Michigan which is an independently owned and operated franchise location. The Gateway Group Real Estate firm currently has 19 local realtors who serve clients from Lowell to the lakeshore and Kalamazoo to Big Rapids and more.

Please send comments and questions to:  gbrownrealtor1@gmail.com