A fair take on the market — for buyers, sellers, and investors who'd rather know than guess.
16 of 16 posts shown
September 24, 2026
Everyone tells you to get pre-approved instead of pre-qualified. The CFPB says the words don't mean what you think. What matters is what the lender actually checked — and in a 1.6-month market, that's the first thing a seller's agent asks.
September 10, 2026
Grand Rapids runs about a dozen annual festivals a year. If you live here, you probably do two of them. Here is the whole calendar, including the ones that run when it's cold.
September 7, 2026
On a Grand Rapids-priced loan, 86% of your first year of payments is interest, and it takes 19.7 years before principal finally wins. Here's why that date doesn't move when the loan gets bigger — and where you actually have leverage.
September 3, 2026
Brunch, vintage shops, and a one o'clock kickoff — what a Grand Rapids Sunday actually looks like, and why the empty day tells you more about a city than the busy one.
August 31, 2026
Where to watch, where to eat, and what a good football Saturday actually looks like here — from someone who's been going to Michigan games since he was three and now spends every fall here.
August 27, 2026
Everyone quotes one number for this market — about 1.1 months of inventory. Broken apart by price, it runs from 0.9 months to 2.7. Here's what the market actually looks like at your price point, and how to find your own number.
August 24, 2026
Grand Rapids costs about a quarter less than the national median and has about a quarter of the inventory. That combination is unusual, and it changes how you have to plan a move here. The economy behind it, the numbers, and what to do first.
August 20, 2026
I said your home has four prices. There's a fifth, it shows up after you're under contract, and it belongs to the bank. Here's how it works — and the formal appeal most buyers don't know they're entitled to.
August 17, 2026
First-time buyers are 21% of the market — the lowest share on record — and the median one is now 40 years old. Here's what actually stands between you and a house in Grand Rapids, including the $10,000 most people don't know Michigan offers.
August 13, 2026
Every agent says fall is a hidden gem. Fifty-two million sales say spring pays more — about 2.8 points more. Here's what that's worth on a Grand Rapids home, and the three cases where listing this fall still beats waiting for May.
August 10, 2026
Probate authority, the date-of-death value, and Michigan's property-tax cap — the three things a family should sort out before an inherited home ever goes on the market.
August 6, 2026
Real Grand Rapids numbers — average rent, today's rates, what a median home costs monthly — plus an interactive calculator and the one variable that actually decides it.
August 3, 2026
Michigan closing costs, demystified — the transfer tax, who customarily pays what, the 2–5% buyers should budget, and a sample closing sheet built on the average Kent County home.
July 30, 2026
Your house has four prices right now — the online estimate, the city's SEV, your number, and the one a buyer will actually pay. Here's how each works and which one matters.
July 27, 2026
The listing week, step by step — what your agent should be doing, what you should be doing, and where deals quietly get won or lost.
July 26, 2026
Working both markets means switching playbooks. Here's how the buyer psychology, seasonality, and negotiating leverage differ between them.