Saint Ignace, MI

This week I'll be holding a social media training event for the Water Wonderland Board of REALTORS. In preparation for my trip to Gaylord on Thursday, I asked some questions of the board AE Jeannie Rizzardi regarding what was going on in their market. I did this in part so I had a feel for the outlook and mindset of the members, and in part so that I could have some material for examples.

One of the items that came back in a response from Board President Cheryl Schlehuber was regarding the new Mackinac Straits Hospital and Health Care system in St. Ignace. Cheryl said: "We have a brand new Hospital and Health Care system with is the first of its kind in the nation, combining the previous county hospital with the Tribal health care. Opened on the north side of the city in May of this year."

This, to me, is a perfect topic for a community Real Estate blog post. People of all generations care about health care, and Boomers and Civic generations are increasingly making real estate purchase decisions based on the availability of quality health care. Not to mention job growth that comes with this type of new venture. So what would a post look like?

The new Mackinac Straits Hospital and Health Care system in St Ignace is now open! This first in the nation combination of our previous county hospital and Tribal health care is a welcome addition to our community. Not only do residents and visitors throughout the Straits area have access to state of the art medical facilities, but it should also add to our economic base with new employment opportunities.

The activity at the Hospital and Health Care System are contributing to a positive buzz about the area that includes redevelopment of some downtown waterfront property that should be a fabulous location.

On the real estate front, we're seeing a tremendous increase in business over the last six months. There seems to be a real increase in confidence regarding values of properties in the region. Home sales are actually up 38% year to date!

Realtors don't need to think of themselves as a blogger, but as a one man/one woman chamber of commerce. We're in the business of selling community. The best way to to that is to share the love- share what you love about your community, share what is happening, who is doing good things, your favorite events, tips and recommendations.

Share the love.

Greetings from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, yes, where "Yoopers" live, work and play. If you're from Michigan or the surrounding Great Lakes States, you probably know right where we're at. If you're from anywhere else, you may have never heard of us or you actually found us and traveled here on vacation. We're 50 mi. south of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Canada, 300 miles due north of Detroit, smack in the middle of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and connected by the famous Mackinac Bridge. The city of St. Ignace was founded in 1676 so we've been around a while.

I love to travel and am always interested in stories of how people end up where they do, whether it's was on vacation, job transfer or have roots there. how they found it and so on. I volunteer in the tourism business so I'm really amazed at how many people have never heard of or crossed the Mackinac Bridge. That's incredible to us because it's so massive and such a big part of Michigan's travel structure and history. It links the two peninsulas of Michigan. The Big Mac just celebrated it's 50th birthday and it was a pretty big deal. The area is steeped in history, much, the foundation for our entire country.

If you can't tell, I love this place and I love the northern Real Estate business. I'm happy to share information about our area and encourage people to visit here or move here too! Our summer weather is probably the best in the country. We don't have tornado's, hurricanes or floods, just an occasional snow storm (which we prefer to watch from inside in P.J.'s). Having the opportunity to live and work in this Great Lakes Region is a privilege for me and I don't take it lightly.

The Straits of Mackinac is one of the most gorgeous places in the world and I encourage you to experience it yourself. This 4 season area has many festivals, car and truck shows and activities to entertain people from all walks of life. Check out our local St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce for a calendar of events and more.

We live in an area that will continue to be popular and values here should be of interest to many people. We've got what a lot of people want, woods, water, small town community, museums, history, waterfront restaurants, shopping, casinos and more. The prices are still affordable and the scenery and lifestyle only gets better.

U.P. Cheryl,

Mackinac Properties Real Estate and Vacation Rentals

cheryl@mackinacproperties.com