MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — Even a year ago, a seller might have touched off a bidding war before even listing their home.
Today, signs the once red hot local housing market may be cooling off.
“We’re actually seeing more price drops right now,” Dirk Stone of Dirk Stone Real Estate and Home Realty relayed.
These days, Stone said homes in Muskegon were also sitting longer.
“It’s starting to feel kind of more like a normal market in that sense,” he explained. “Buyers who have been, you know, frustrated in this kind of fast-paced market, might want to actually get back into the game.”
The same is true of home renovation industry.
Numbers from the US Department of Labor showed a full 43% of American homeowners had recently delayed home improvements or repairs on account of rising costs.
A leg up is now available for some low-income families in Muskegon County, geared to make homes safer and healthier.
The Health Homes Program is funded with federal grant money from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and administrated locally by the City of Muskegon’s Community and Neighborhood Services Department.
Those who meet the income requirements could be eligible to secure up to $10,000 in funding to repair common household problems.
The money would cover the full cost of:
- Assessment
- Testing
- Labor
- Materials
Qualifying hazards include:
- Lead-based paint
- Issues with mold or moisture
- Pests
- Carbon monoxide
- Etc.
To be eligible, recipients must:
- Own their own single-family home
- Live in Muskegon County
- Earn 80-percent or below of median county household income
- Be current on property taxes
To apply, fill out the form on the county’s website.
Program administrators estimated approximately 150 households would receive assistance in some form.
The City numbered among 60 other groups and communities to receive a share of the $104.7 million in funding nationwide.
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