Looking back at 2018, the real estate season started off strongly after a fairly mild winter but things gradually settled down in our area depending on where you were in Plymouth or Northville, City of Township. In general, the city markets did better as people continue to be drawn to walkable downtowns and all that they offer in terms of lifestyle while a broad range of issues influenced many buyers and sellers including the following:

• Rising prices and limited supply making it especially competitive for first time buyers.
• Increasing interest rates, which although historically low, were a deterrent to some buyers
• Stock market volatility
• Availability of new construction homes
• Automotive industry changes

The local economy remains quite strong as new businesses continues to appear and new real estate development goes on and up – residential and commercial. Plymouth and Northville, City and Township have seen similar trends in terms of value last year. The City markets saw a slight uptick while the Townships were fairly flat.  Even when you factor in new construction values, the City’s of Plymouth and Northville have limited supply and an extremely diverse housing stock ranging widely in size, age, desirability, and price. So statistics can require a lot of interpretation but overall the trend is up.

In the Townships, Plymouth is fairly stable with only a slight decrease in Sales Price by  Square Foot ratio. Northville Township is also fairly even where new construction is an added competitive factor for resale homes especially in the upper price ranges.  Homes that haven’t been updated are having an especially difficult time selling and tend to linger longer on the market.  Buyers today have the added influence from HGTV and social media so what was desirable 10-20 years ago, never-mind 30-40 years ago, becomes quickly dated and obsolete.  So choose your designs, materials, and finishes wisely when building or updating and your home should withstand the test of time in terms of value.

To put things in historical perspective, here’s Robert Bake’s Holiday Bulletin from 25 year ago:

Below are the charts showing each area’s 10 Year trend of Sales Price by Square Foot Ratio.  The average prices shows a similar trend. Overall, after 10 years of upward movement, the positive trend has begun to ease.

Plymouth Township:

Northville Township:

City of Plymouth:

City of Northville: