Real Estate Market -- Is acreage selling in MI right now? (Grand Rapids: equity loan, foreclosure)

[bubbagirl]

Does anyone know how well acreage is selling? I know houses are NOT selling well without a loss, but I don't how across the board that is.

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[Rapunzll]

I'd be surprised if acreage was selling any better than anything else right now. You could always put up a For Sale By Owner sign though and see what happens!

[adler2u]

I have tried to keep a finger on the puls of real estate, at the highth vecant land was selling for 3500 an acre more if water was on it.
Now Vecant land is moving at 2000 an acre but not very fast, I have 22 acres that I had to bust off of my 53 acres to sell my home, I am asking 1350 an acre for it, I think at that price I can move it.
Be prepared to start at 15 to 17 hundred an acre and get an offer below that.
Michinan property is tumbling right now.
I advise unless you want to hold on to your property for 7 to 15 years, sell now, the longer you wait the lower you will have to sell, we have not hit bottom yet.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by adler2u

I have tried to keep a finger on the puls of real estate, at the highth vecant land was selling for 3500 an acre more if water was on it.
Now Vecant land is moving at 2000 an acre but not very fast, I have 22 acres that I had to bust off of my 53 acres to sell my home, I am asking 1350 an acre for it, I think at that price I can move it.
Be prepared to start at 15 to 17 hundred an acre and get an offer below that.
Michinan property is tumbling right now.
I advise unless you want to hold on to your property for 7 to 15 years, sell now, the longer you wait the lower you will have to sell, we have not hit bottom yet.

Sheesh. Acreage in the Grand Rapids metro area goes for $20,000 - $30,000 acre (unimproved) if it can be developed for residential, although the number of proposed projects has dropped quite a bit. Commercial acreage along major routes goes for $100,000+ acre. Downtown Grand Rapids CBD is now reaching the stratosphere around $1.0 - $2.0 Million/acre.

Generally I would say acreage is in about the same state as the rest of residential market: slow. If you're in an area where homes are selling OK, than acreage is probably selling OK.

[Hudder]

Interesting to read about acreage. I have a relating question for those of you in the know.

We're looking at a house west of Grand Ledge in the country. The 3000 square foot house sits on a wooded 25 acre lot.

The home owners have owned it for 3 years, and are listing the house at 23% higher than what they bought it for! I don't see how this is possible for a housing market experiencing so much trouble.

How does land impact home values or vice versa? And how can I find figures for what the market has done in the last three years for both housing and land?

Our real estate agent said it's about a 7% total gain the past three years for housing, which I find more and more unrealistic given the snippets I am starting to read about the market conditions.

Thanks for any answers, I can't help but feel like their list price is way off.

[bubbagirl]

First, and foremost, anyone can slap any pricetag on their property. They may not sell it, but they have the right to ask it. The best thing you can do is offer what you feel is reasonable and take a gamble on whether or not they will accept your offer. It is a waste of time to dwell on what you think the price *should* be vs. what they have listed it as. It won't get you any further ahead... what? Planning to confront them about it? That would be an easy way to get a door slammed in your face. JMHO

You probably won't find any information source that lists what the actual net increase of property value. Reason being... values are all over the board right now. In Eaton Co, Eaton Rapids is experience astronomical foreclosure rates. Easily, 30% of the in-town homes were up for sale last year, and easily 60% or more of those houses were foreclosed upon. How do you figure out the true value when the market has been absolutley flooded? How is that figure affecting other county towns such as Grand Ledge, Charlotte, Potterville, and even West Lansing / Delta Township? We are looking at a 20% increase in value on our property becaue we improved it - and that is what we'd have to get in order to reimburse what we've invested. Will it sell for that? I have no idea.. I'm taking a chance.

The most informative information you can obtain is from a realtor - they can pull a list of comparible houses that have sold over the past 1-2 yrs and see what they have sold for. If this particular place is priced well outside of that range, then you can either make an offer or walk away. It'll probably still be on the market a year from now, if not 2. For all you know they have some sort of equity loan out against it that has to be covered in order for the house to sell ... I can name many, many family members of my own that are in that same boat with their own properties.

[Hudder]

Oh certainly, and you can't begrudge them for that. But you also have to be realistic by looking at market conditions, and question such a high price given they also made no improvements to the home.

I will certainly be getting more info from the realtor. We're just in the very beginning stages here. Thanks for your advice.

If anyone can add any comments about land values, that would be great.

[JimmyInGreatLakes]

We have a ranch ON A CORNER LOT in our subdivision that is similar to others that have sold for less than $200,000 but they are asking $299,000! It's slightly better than those that have sold but I wouldn't pay more than a $10,000 premium for it over the others. Yes, anyone can ask what they want for their property, however, my wife and I just laugh everytime we pass by. They obviously are not very anxious to sell.

[wallstreet1986]

Michigan will be a nice place for retirees -- cheap houses/land and a Midwestern feel. Not happening yet. Maybe the baby boomers need to all leave and come back when they can get money elsewhere and afford to come back. Love the UP and northern part of the State -- only a place that one can retire to.

[Kingsnkali]

Yes, Michigan could be a nice place to retire. The only problem (and it is a deal breaker for many) is the high property taxes. Way too high in many locations.

I'm sure many deals have gone bye bye when the potential buyer sees what the property taxes are for the properties.

Northern Michigan could just as easily turn into a wilderness of run-down, overgrown, abandoned properties. You could be trolling the shoreline looking at abandoned lake homes with busted out windows and rusty lawn furniture.

Michigan evidently feels it's better to let the place go to seed. Let the small towns die off instead of encouraging retirees to bring their money in...