With the release of Realtor.com’s housing market forecast for 2019, Grand Rapids, MI is once again listed in the Top Ten hottest housing markets in the country. In fact, the area’s economic growth, job market, and other positive indicators have made Grand Rapids the 2nd hottest market in the US.
Although not listed in 2019’s Top Ten, Lansing, Michigan also remains one of the most desirable places to live in America. With a strong local economy of its own, the Greater Lansing, MI area has continually added jobs and reduced unemployment since 2011.
Both zip codes have seen sustained growth over the last decade, attracting a variety of new home buyers from all over the country. With affordable homeownership opportunities available to first-time West Michigan buyers and builders alike, there has never been a better time to buy a new home.
Low interest rates and affordable home prices can even make home ownership less expensive than the cost to rent. By choosing to buy, new home owners can build equity in their own future instead of helping to pay for someone else’s home.
Millennials still account for almost one-third of the home sales in West Michigan. Understanding what home ownership means to their futures, Millennials are leaving behind the “24-hour cities” like New York and Los Angeles to embrace the slower, “18-hour” culture in places like Grand Rapids and Lansing.
Still full of cultural and social options, smaller cities mean lower home prices and create the option to purchase a home wherever the buyer desires. Whether waterfront, wooded spaces, or quality schools are the buyers’ highest priority, new homeowners can choose to live in the many Eastbrook lifestyle communities.
Millennial home buyers are also driving several other trends, including the renaissance of many of the neighborhoods just outside of the urban city areas. With new shops and restaurants appearing constantly, cultural and social opportunities are easy to find in the bustling outskirts of towns like Grand Rapids.
At Eastbrook Homes, we’ve always known that Grand Rapids, Greater Lansing, and plenty of other Michigan areas are wonderful places to work, play, and thrive. If you’d like to learn more, give the Eastbrook team a call and we’ll tell you why West Michigan is Number 1 in our list.
