Rockford, MI

Rockford Michigan is a quaint village on the Rogue River with many

suburban neighborhoods surrounding it. Rockford Michigan has an

excellent public school system and a large scale employer in Wolverine

Worldwide (they make the famous Hush Puppy shoes, among other

items). They have a vibrant downtown area with boutique shops and

good restaurants. The picture below shows the many turn-of-century

buildings that have been rehabbed to house current retail shops and

eateries.

Rockford Real Estate Market Report

September 2008

Rockford market up to $ 200,000

$/sq ft DOM Avg Price

Active listings 165 $110.08 71 $152,445

Pending 22 $ 95.30 69 $135,485

Sold 58 $104.41 39 $142,317

Active listings range in price from $29,900 to $200,000.

Sold listings range in price from $45,000 to $ 197,000.

Rockford Market over $200,000

$/sqft DOM Avg Price

Active Listings 196 164.09 80 $ 327,615

Pending 9 146.86 79 $ 341,756

Sold 22 144.43 53 $ 284,136

Active listings range in price from $200,000 to $1,300,000.

Sold listings range in price from $203,000 to $550,000.

368 homes sold so far in the Rockford Public School District

in 2008. The average home price is $187,200.

Because Rockford is such a small city and covers a large district,

this report is based on the Rockford Public School District, not

the village of Rockford.

If you would like more information about the value of your Rockford

home, please contact me directly at 1-888-240-1968 ext 0.

Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate - Westbrook Realty

Copyright 2008 All rights reserved

photo of Downtown Rockford by Bonnie Westbrook

Another entry in the Lola's Favorite Restaurants series...

If you're in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, I'd suggest you work in a trip to visit one of the areas' most interesting and unique new dining options...Reds on the River.

Located approximately 10 ~ 15 minutes north of Grand Rapids in Rockford, Michigan, Reds...which sits astride the banks of the picturesque Rogue River is quickly becoming a much loved dining hot spot.

My interest in Reds on the River was peaked by a blog post by a colleague & fellow Grand Rapids broker, Eric Webster. Although it took me some time to head over to check things out for myself, I recollected his enthusiastic, yet balanced description of how much he and his wife enjoyed their dining experience.

Yesterday evening, on a whim, we decided to head 'up north.' The restaurant is located in the quaint, historic Rockford Village downtown area. It's a huge building with a Tuscany inspired architecture. Walking up to the door, I marveled at how large the place seemed to be. Well, that's because there's more to this restaurant than the main dining room. Included in the complex are a very well stocked wine shop, banquet and catering facilities, business offices in the upstairs area and a patio dining area which runs the entire length of the building; providing an unrivaled view of the riverfront.

We choose outdoor seating as it was a beautiful summer evening. The service was superb. From the moment we stepped into the restaurant, the wait staff were attentive, prompt and well informed about the menu.

Now let's talk food...The menu presents an interesting and somewhat eclectic mix of options. Reds prides itself on it's extensive array of wines...particularly the red wines, and the steak and seafood selections. According to their site, the seafood is flown in fresh daily.

Our waiter informed us about the fact that their steaks are aged on site for approximately 3 weeks. In addition, the restaurant works with local farms to provide fresh produce of a seasonal variety. The bread which was also from a local Grand Rapids, Michigan bakery was deliciously warm, moist and hearty. I, in particular appreciate a restaurant which cooperates with local farms to benefit it's patrons and our community.

For starters, we ordered the chicken empanadas which were served on a bed of lettuce greens trickled over with a seasoned mayonnaise. An inventive touch to the empanadas was the addition of raisins...a nice complement to the savory blend of spices in the filling. My husband had a crock of French Onion Soup.

I decided to try the Torch Lake Chicken for my main entree and my husband opted for a Cuban inspired dish, the Ropa Veija. I wondered if the pristine, upper mid-Michigan lake was the inspiration. The cherry glaze was the hint. The chicken was succulent and the cherry glaze was not overly sweet. A bed of whipped Yukon potatoes served as a robust base atop which curly crisp onion rings added a whimsical touch.

Saving room for dessert is highly recommended as the sweets selections are prepared on site. There were many options, but I decided on the Tres Leches Cake one of my favorites. Reds on the Rivers' twist on Tres Leches included a fruit compote (in red syrup of course) and a raspberry sorbet.

As the sun began to work it's way down and the evening cooled, the Meijer White Pine Trail allowed walkers, joggers and cyclists to enjoy the view too. After dinner, we strolled around the building along the river...a perfect way to end a lovely evening.

photo courtesy of mandj98's photostream on flickr.com

As we start a new year it is good to review and look back to see if we can learn from the past. So much of the news lately is on the Housing Market and the difficulties that sellers are having through the erosion of prices. Buyers are waiting for the lowest point in the market to buy. Sellers are looking at prices that were higher a year ago to set prices for today.

In some markets we have seen the average price go down while in others the prices has been stable and even risen. How do you make the right decision in this market? I don't think there is a economist or an "expert" in the business that can say with certainty what the market will do in the short run. I have sold Real estate since 1973 and I have seen almost all the cycles in this business.

One thing remains constant - given enough time, prices will rise and most families want the security

of a house that they can call home.

In the chart above, you can see a number of trends. First, there were 21 fewer sales in 2007. Second, the

average sales price is $25,000 lower. Each item in the statistics are in the buyers favor except one: that is

number of homes on the market. 2006 inventory grew each month and that trend continued through most

of 2007 but we have had a recent reduction of properties on the market. As soon as that happens the

advantage the buyers had will diminish and we will see prices start to rise and less flexibility from sellers.

My thoughts are: the market has corrected itself and we will see fewer homes on the market

and prices staying flat to slightly increasing.

Grand Rapids Real Estate is My Real Job

Terry Westbrook's Grand Rapids Real Estate Blog

Copyright by Terry Westbrook 2007

Westbrook Realty

Contact me at : 1-888-240-1968 x 0

Website url: Terry Westbrook.com

Email: terry@TerryWestbrook.com

photo of Rogue River Backwaters by Bonnie Westbrook