About Gladwin County, MI

Billings Township is located in Gladwin County MI.

The school district for this area is Beaverton Rural Schools.

Many of the Wixom Lake waterfront homes are located in Billings Township, along with

Tobacco and Hay Townships. Wixom Lake extends South into Midland County, and those waterfront

homes and cottages are in Hope Township.

For those of you interested in Billings Township and what goes on there,

a NEW WEBSITE has been launched.

It is very new and does not have a lot of content in it yet, however,

it has been designed for us to provide information to us,

their goal is to keep us informed and there is a question and answer page,

it's still blank, waiting for the very first question!

From the home page of the new website:

"Our objective is not to slander or tell half truths, but to focus on making Billings Township a better place to live and play for ALL."

So, when you have a little time to spare .......

http://www.billingstrots.com/index.html

Marilyn Harrell

Realtor

Wixom Lake office 989-689-4141

Gladwin, Michigan is located in Gladwin County in rural Northern Michigan. Here you can expect lakes, state forests, downtown shopping and a small town atmosphere. We are currently experiencing a buyers market! There is a lot of inventory to choose from, much of which is the foreclosure (bank owned) inventory. Interest rates are low and if you act now the first time home buyer tax credit of up to $8,000 is still in effect.

No matter what type of market it is always in your best interest to get pre-approved by a lender before you begin viewing homes with your real estate agent. This way you know:

• How much you can afford - you will have a price range and know what you are comfortable spending for your new home.
  
• Approximately what interest rate you can expect - the rate will change until you lock it in, but interest rates vary by credit score and affect the amount of your payment so it is good to get some idea of what to expect.
  
• What types of homes you can look at - Some loan programs will have criteria that the home must meet which will exclude fixer uppers. Some loan programs will exclude manufactured homes.

National Association of Realtors (NAR) has a useful tool that will quickly provide you with an estimate of how much home you can afford. By adding the amount you may be qualified to borrow to what you've saved for a down payment, it estimates the maximum home price for which you may qualify.

This can be a useful tool so feel free to use as often as you like. To open the Home Affordability Calculator click here.

Remember this calculator is only offered as a planning tool and is not an offer to make a loan of any amount. For more precise guidelines about lending considerations that apply to your situation, please contact a mortgage lender

Currently in Gladwin County the average home sale is $73,178 and there are currently 1,073 homes for sale. To read the entire September 2009 Gladwin, Michigan market update click here.

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Beaverton, Michigan located in rural northern Michigan is a great community all year long, but it is ablaze with the colors of Autumn in September and October! What a great time to come visit! I would suggest checking out the Wild Pumpkin while you are here.

The Wild Pumpkin is located at the Hedrick Family Farm on Beaverton Road in Beaverton. They offer rides on a hay wagon out to the field to pick out your own pumpkin at .25/lb! While they have a great selection of pumpkins at affordable prices they also offer an animal petting farm where the kids and adults can feed animals such as horses, llamas, sheep, rabbits and various birds. There is even pony rides on the weekends!

My personal favorite at the Wild Pumpkin is the corn maze! It is tricky for all ages and lots of fun.

Any visit to the Wild Pumpkin wouldn't be complete without a visit to the concession stand for some homemdade donuts, apple cider and more.

The Wild Pumpkin is located at 5799 Beaverton Road in Beaverton, Michigan and can be reached by calling

989-435-9001. They are open through Halloween from 3pm to dark on the weekdays and 10am to dark on the weekends.

I suggest a vist...you'll make some lasting memories!

For more information on the area or the Beaverton Real Estate Market contact Sonya Loose at 989-429-2600 or via email at sonya@sonyaloose.com

Market Report for Billings Township, Tobacco Township and Hay Township

Located in Gladwin County, Beaverton MI 48612

2 BR 1 BA Sold for: $58,000 2 BR 1 BA Sold for $40,000 2 BR 1 BA WF Sold for $80,000

300 x 225 lot Sold for $8,500 3 BR 2 BA Sold for $170,000 2 BR 1 BA WF Sold for $130,000

Residential lots and home sales in the following townships and time periods; compare 2008 to 2009 Sales:

Sold in Hay Sold in Billings Sold in Tobacco

June 1 - Sept 30 June 1 - Sept 30 June 1 - Sept 30

2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009

Homes/Land-Homes/Land Homes/Land-Homes/Land Homes/Land-Homes/Land

Below $100,000 3 / 3 6 / 3 11 / 2 9 / 5 3 / 3 6 / 1

$100,000-$200,000 1 / 1 2 / 0 5 / 0 6 / 0 1 / 0 3 /0

Above $200,000 2 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 2 / 0 0 / 0

The above information is gathered and sorted from the Clare Gladwin Board of Realtors MLS system; It does not include for sale by owners or data from other realtor boards.

Wixom Lake office 989-689-4141

Century21 Smith-Miller, Inc.

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate here in Gladwin, Clare or Midland County, please do give me a call!

Gladwin County is located in rural Northern Michigan and is conveniently located within 3 hours of Detroit and 2-2.5 hours from Flint and Lansing making it easy to come "Up North" for the weekend. But, we encourage you to stay longer, and after you visit this area you will want to spend much more time here! An area that is popular for its scenic lakes (including Wixom Lake & Secord Lake), plentiful state land, quaint parks, Amish communities and down town shopping. Gladwin County is primarily a second home/resort community. We have real estate to accommodate every buyer from very affordable cabins to luxurious homes. As a life long resident of Gladwin County I know the area well and I know the market even better!

The Real Estate market in this area, along with most areas of Michigan, remains challenging but appears to be improving! Recently we saw home values declining, but that appears to have stabilized. There does remain to be a stagnant economy and a lack of qualified buyers since loan approval criteria has become more restrictive. However, if you are looking to buy your first home, or your vacation home it is a fabulous time to buy! Interest rates are phenomenal for qualified buyers, there is a lot of inventory to choose from and homes are more affordable then they have been in years! For home buyers who haven't owned a home in the last 3 years there is even an up to $8,000 tax credit to take advantage of before November 30th.

Here is the latest real estate market update for Gladwin and Clare County, Michigan which include the surrounding areas of Beaverton, Gladwin, Harrison, Clare, Rhodes, Bentley, Wixom Lake and Secord Lake.

The Clare/Gladwin Board of Realtors currently has 1,073 homes for sale through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and 71 of those were new to the market in September 2009 reflecting our busy selling season winding down. The average asking price of the homes currently on the market is $126,769 and the average days on market for those homes has been 309 days. These stats are virtually unchanged from May, June, July and August figures which helps to clarify my theory of the stabilizing market in Gladwin, Michigan.

During the month of September we saw 62 Clare and Gladwin County homes sell/close. This is one more sale than August, but August was up 17 sales over July! The average asking price was $82,261. The average sales price was $73,178 and the average days on market for these homes was 218 days. The sellers received an average of 89% of their asking price.

We saw 124 homes expire from the market in September. The main reason homes don't sell during their listing period is they were priced incorrectly for the market and/or condition of the home. In challenging buyers market periods it is imperative that a listing be priced as competitively as possible for its condition in order to have a chance of selling. To learn more about why homes typically expire and what you can do to avoid that fate click here.

$179,000

2214 River Ridge, Gladwin, Michigan 48624

On Secord Lake

Exceptional describes this 2 BR, 1 BA home on all sports Secord Lake. Located on a quiet street with a large lot and panoramic view of the lake. The home offers an open floor plan with a wood stove insert fireplace in living room and two patio doors leading to a relaxing deck with a sunsetter awning. The lot is nicely treed and has low maintenance landscaping. Steel seawall, boat lift and two suspended docks. Extra large garage attached to home via a breezeway with plenty of storage. Home can be sold furnished and turn key including linens, dishes, patio furniture and swing. Escape to the lake today!

If you're thinking about selling your home, one very important fact to know about your real estate market is the Absorption Rate. The Absorption Rate will tell you how long it will take for the current inventory of homes in Gladwin and Clare, MI to be absorbed by the market if no other homes come on the market. The absorption rate for September 2009is 1.5 YEARS! This is holding steady from last month proving that the strong buyers market is definitely easing in Gladwin/Clare County and inventory is being cleared from the market! If you want your Gladwin area home sold, you need to know this number to help you price your home accordingly.

Are you thinking about making Gladwin or Clare County, Michigan your new home? Are you thinking about taking advantage of the great interest rates and affordable prices to buy your own slice of Northern Michigan Heaven? Contact me today and lets gets started! I know the area very well and I know the market even better! You can call me at 989-429-2600, email me at sonya@sonyaloose.com or visit my website at www.BuyorSellWithSonya.com .