GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — This year, Realtor.com has once again listed Grand Rapids as one of its top housing markets. A local real estate agent expects this year to be even busier for the housing market.
"For 2024, we're expecting that home sales in general are going to more than likely increase," said Garrett Kirby.
Kirby is a real estate agent with Dolci Group in Grand Rapids. He also runs a TikTok account sharing his experiences and explaining trends in the local housing market.
In one of his recent videos, he recaps the market in 2023.
"It’s the same story as the last couple years," Kirby said. "Home sales are down 15%.”
He expects a more active year than last year, largely due to the expectation that interest rates will come back down. Last year, they hit a spike of 8%, the highest they had been in two decades.
“As interest rates start going down, we’ve already seen an increase of buyers entering the market," Kirby said. “Active listings go down, demand keeps going up, home prices we’re projecting to continue to go up.”
That means if you're in the market for a home in the area, you might want to start looking earlier than you would've a few years ago.
“Three years ago, there were a ton of houses under 200,000 and Grand Rapids. Very seldom is there a house under 200,000 in Grand Rapids. It might start at 200,000, but then gets bidded up,” Kirby said.
He shared similar experiences that his clients have faced in his videos, including one where a buyer entered a house at $250,000 that ended up selling for $320,000, well over asking price.
That house had 20 offers before it sold, a trend Kirby also expects to continue, especially in the popular warmer seasons.
“When spring rolls around, people who are kind of putting it on the backburner during the winter are ready to hit it in the spring," Kirby said.
He added that the suburbs of Grand Rapids and nearby towns are going to be especially popular, including Cedar Springs, Sparta, Lowell and Allendale.
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