How Much Does The Interest Rate Really Affect Your Buying Power?

How Much Does The Interest Rate Really Affect Your Buying Power? I am going through old listings that couldn’t sell at the owner’s desired price and through files of home owners who didn’t try to sell after getting a market analysis (CMA) for their home because of the value at that time. The good news [...]

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Am I Overpaying?

Am I Overpaying? Is the listing overpriced? What is the house worth? All questions, or variations of questions, most buyers ask when buying a house. They are valid questions with not easy or pat answer. The value of the home depends on your point of view. Webster defines “value” as “a fair return or equivalent [...]

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Could Incomplete MLS Listings Be To Blame For Bad Appraisals?

Could Incomplete MLS Listings Be To Blame For Bad Appraisals? I was reading a letter from our outgoing board president, John Burt, published in our monthly board publication. In the letter he writes about appraisals and mentions that appraisers read the remarks we put in the MLS profile sheet. He goes on to write: “That information [...]

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Is the Appraisal for Your Protection?

When buying a home in Oakland or Lapeer County Michigan a standard contingency is financing (the buyer obtaining a mortgage for the house). Normally, part of the financing process is an appraisal, and the cost of the appraisal is born by the purchaser. So is this the purchaser’s appraisal? And is the appraisal for the [...]

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Lake Orion Michigan Real Estate Sales- Home Prices Still Up! Inventory Down!

Lake Orion Michigan Real Estate Sales- Home Prices Still Up! Inventory Down! Despite the fact that unit sales have been down the last 4 months in a row, and that the median sale price for October was down slightly from last October (less than 1/2%) Orion sales are still up year to date. 5 of [...]

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Lotus and Maceday Lakes Lakefront Real Estate Sales

  Lotus and Maceday Lakes Lakefront Real Estate Sales   Maceday and Lotus are both all sports lakes and are connected for a total acreage of 419 acres. Maceday Lake is located in Waterford, Michigan. The majority of Lotus Lake is located in Waterford Township, but the northern tip falls into Independence Township (more commonly known [...]

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Is This a Trend? Clarkston Michigan Sales are Up AGAIN!

Is This a Trend? Clarkston Michigan Sales are Up AGAIN! Let’s hope it is. The past couple days I wrote similar posts for Lake Orion and Oxford. And today I’m happy to write that sales are up, AGAIN, in Clarkston Michigan. The median sales price was up for the first half of the year, up [...]

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Oxford Michigan Homes- Prices Up! Inventory Down!

Oxford Michigan Homes- Prices Up! Inventory Down! Does this mean Oxford Michigan real estate has reached rock bottom? Who knows? What I can state is that at the end of August: Unit sales are up 17.5% Median sales price is up 15% Total sales volume through August 2010 was $30,807,690 vs $22,988,190 in 2009. In [...]

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Lakes of Indianwood, Oxford Michigan- Upscale Homes in a Natural Setting

Lakes of Indianwood, Oxford Michigan Lakes of Indianwood is an upscale subdivision (higher priced, larger homes) covering Orion and Oxford townships in North Oakland County Michigan. The majority of the lots are heavily wooded – some waterfront. There are approximately 90 acres of lakes and streams, 125 acres of wetlands (aka waterfowl habitats), and the Polly [...]

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You Are One of Multiple Offers! Is the Other Agent Lying?

You Are One of Multiple Offers! Is the Other Agent Lying? I believe it would be a pretty accurate statement that the general consensus is that the housing market in Southeast Michigan is still in the crapper. That’s not to say it’s a “bad” market- that’s all relative. Unit sales are up and prices in [...]

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