The Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate Agent:

1. They understand fair market value and pricing strategy: When you work with an experienced, local agent, they should have a great handle on just what your home is worth in your area, and what kind of pricing will get buyers through the door. They can help you walk the tightrope of getting you as much money out of your house as possible, while still appealing to a wide range of buyers.
2. They’re objective listing experts: Good real estate agents have a deep understanding of their local market and want to show your home in the best light.
3. They have access to extensive market exposure: With access to the local MLS and online listing portals, social media presence, professional networks, connections with other agents, and name recognition, your real estate agent can get a lot of eyes on your listing and plenty of potential buyers in the front door.
4. Buyer’s agents are more likely to show your listing to clients: Real estate agents are paid on commission, so some agents may not take the time to show your FSBO listing to their clients, since there’s no guaranteed commission.
5. They’ll negotiate professionally: Experienced agents can spot serious buyers and guide you toward the strongest offers, which eliminates the burden of calls and negotiations with less motivated shoppers. Agents are extremely familiar with both the selling process and your local market, so they can recommend appropriate counteroffers. Bottom line: They’ll help you get as much money as possible. No wonder 80% of sellers whose agents led contract negotiations said the service was very or extremely valuable.
6. They know the paperwork: There’s a lot of documentation involved when you sell a home, and without an agent, the burden of making sure it’s complete and accurate falls on the seller (or an attorney you’ve hired to help). Seasoned real estate professionals are experts at the purchase and sale process, and all the legalese that comes with it.

These are just a few of the many reasons why listing your home with a Realtor gives sellers a huge advantage when selling.

When deciding whether to list with a Realtor or sell your home by owner, I hope this helps with your decision.

Are you constantly trying to keep up with interior design trends?

You may or not be familiar with the latest trends.

1. Wallpaper- Wallpaper is visually appealing and provides a level of creativity you won’t find with paint. New styles of wallpaper today offer the look of faux suede, cork, velvet, vinyl, embossed finishes, textiles, and more.
2. You’ve probably heard this one before- “open and bright”. It seems like almost everyone wants an open floor plan. We see unopen floor plans to be more common in older homes (1950’s and older) where every single room is separated. Today, people are leaning towards a living room, dining room, and kitchen as all being one big room.
3. Simple- White is easy and you can’t go wrong with white cabinets and white interior home paint. It’s clean, bright, and crisp. Gray interior paint is fading out even while the gray paint trend didn’t last long. 
4. NO carpet- We typically see carpet in bedrooms but we aren’t even seeing this anymore. Many people are continuing the hard flooring in their house through the bedrooms. Hard floors are easier to keep up with and keep clean. People are going to hard floors in bedrooms with a large area rug that actually ends up covering most of the hard floors in the bedroom. Once rugs are worn, they’re much easier to replace than trying to replace carpet. 
5. Black paint and accents: I have personally seen an entire exterior of a home painted black. I didn’t see this in a magazine but right around where I live. The black-painted home has bright red trim- it’s bold but very sharp and classy. I have also seen black trim against white interior walls. Can’t picture it? Check out the attached photos. 
6. Vintage- vintage in the new “new”… antiques can add character and differentiates your home from the rest. 
7. Patterned and textured tile- tiles with patterns are more popular than ever. Patterned tile alternatives incorporate extraordinary patterns that add creative flair to any space. I often see patterned tile used in only a few places throughout a home so it’s not “overpowering.” For example, in a bathroom; tile the shower with more simple and plain tile and install patterned tile only on the bathroom floor. 

Ceramic tile designs are moving to more natural and untreated wood looks, as the timber elements evoke calm environments and a sense of nature. 

1. Shiplap- (my favorite!) Shiplap is often used on only one of four interior bedroom walls. By using shiplap this way, it adds depth and character without wallpaper, different colors, or decor. Shiplap is visually appealing. I mean, who doesn’t love shiplap, right?

Advanced Technology & Real Estate

As a Realtor, it is safe to say that I can do about 50% of my business remotely. The advanced technology we have at our fingertips has opened the doors to fast communication, electronic signing and allows us to be able to answer questions quickly and access information easily.

You may ask- “why is this so important?”

We live in an area where a lot of the residents live full-time in another location. With technology today, we can communicate and work together remotely. For example, if someone wanted to sell their second home in Petoskey, Mi, and the homeowner lived in Indiana, the homeowner wouldn’t have to make special trips to the area to sign documents, etc. Technology has provided a new level of convenience to sellers as well as buyers. 

The advancement of technology for Realtors has allowed us to better market a property, capture better photos and communicate with clients more efficiently. While most businesses are adapting to advanced technology, Realtors can utilize other sites like County sites for property information and view GIS imagery at a whole new level. 

There is no need to worry about selling your property if your full-time residence is elsewhere. Personally, I am technically proficient. With this, I can help make the process easier and a little less time-consuming. I can help you whether you live here full-time or part-time. 

Our Northern Michigan (Emmet and Cheboygan Counties) Inland Waterway consists of Crooked and Pickerel Lakes, Crooked River, Burt Lake, Indian River, Mullett Lake, and the Cheboygan River. Each body of water along the waterway is entirely unique in putting value on the property/home. Further, if you break down each body of water, take Burt Lake, for example, West Burt Lake homes are going to be priced higher than those on Greenman’s Point.

So why is this? The answer: Market Value & Supply and Demand. Market Value is the actual amount that a person will pay for which something can be sold in a given market. Supply and Demand in flux will help determine if prices will be higher or lower based on how many homes are available and how many buyers are shopping.

Determining a Current Market Value

Real Estate agents use comparable homes to determine a Current Market Value of a home. The value is often given as a range that will help homeowners to set their prices. But it is when buyers and sellers come together to negotiate a sale price that the Market Value is finally determined.

On the Inland Waterway, there are pockets of values that make sense to be grouped together, these are primarily based on location. For example, on Crooked Lake, Oden Island homes are uniquely their own versus homes on the water in Oden.

A Deeper Look

There are 20 homes on Oden Island (to the best of our count). According to a mapping search of Oden Island (Northern Michigan MLS) there have been 11 sales in the past 20 years. Most of these sales were of vacant land. Of the homes that sold, the average sale price has been $513,300 (over all years). The most recent sale documented in the Northern Michigan MLS was in 2015 when a home sold at $530,000 by Paul Fairbairn.

In Oden, there have been 18 sales since 2004 (the NMMLS only goes back to 2000, no sales were recorded prior to 2004). The average sales price of all homes sold since ’04 is $389,886. The most recent sales recorded were in 2022 (3 sales). The sales were of condominium units not yet constructed. The average price of these condos was $609,000. Funnily enough, all sales recorded in Oden have been condos.

Now to compare. It wouldn’t be reasonable to compare an Oden Island home with an Oden condo because the builds are clearly different. Their waterfront would be different as one would be considered shared while the other would be private ownership. Also, privacy from the island home to the condominiums would also be vastly different. Years built, square footages, design elements, these things wouldn’t be comparable either.

Looking at Conway addresses on Crooked Lake, these too are mostly condominiums. So while we can reasonably conclude that these too, wouldn’t be good comparables for Oden Island homes, they may be good comparables for Oden condominiums. Well, not necessarily. One reason this is not true is that there are already many comparable condominiums in Conway, so comparing to Oden isn’t necessary.

What about Graham Road on Crooked Lake? Can these homes compare to Oden Island homes? Since 2003, 21 sales have occurred on Graham Road (some homes sold more than once). The average sale price has been $442,804. The highest sales price has been $730,000. Square footage ranges from 1,090 sq. ft. to 4,738 sq. ft. Waterfront footage ranges from 50 ft. of Crooked Lake frontage to 213 ft.

Again, the average sales price on Oden Island was $513,300. The highest sales price was $560,000. Square footage ranges from 1,827 sq. ft. to 2,826 sq. ft. Waterfront footage ranges from 120 ft. of Crooked Lake frontage to 293 ft.

So what do you think? Can you compare Graham Road listings to Oden Island listings? Probably not. A good reason is that there are enough homes on Graham Road that you wouldn’t want to use Oden Island comparables. On the reverse, Oden Island homes are still too unique to themselves. On average, their waterfront footages are more, their settings are more private, and their locations are too different.

Are you seeing a trend? There are pockets of comparable homes around Crooked Lake which are uniquely situated to be too different to present as good comparables for other locations. We looked at Oden, Conway, and Graham Road as comparables to Oden Island. It stands to reason that Ponshewaing, Eagle Beach, and even Channel Road homes are not going to be good fits compared to Oden Island.

This pattern will also hold true comparing Crooked Lake to Pickerel Lake and the different geographies on Pickerel Lake. McCarthy Road on Pickerel isn’t going to hold good comparables for Township Park Road (North versus South parts of the Lake). (These realities are also why Zillow’s Zestimates are often inaccurate.)

What happens when real estate agents can’t find comparable homes? There are other methods to finding a market value than solely using comparables. Real estate agents can broaden their timeline, use less desirable comparables and make adjustments, or an agent might recommend an appraisal be done.

*All information is provided by the Northern Michigan MLS and interpreted by Coldwell Banker Fairbairn Realty.

Written by Coldwell Banker Fairbairn Realty.

Are you curious about what the market is doing?

Here are some averages from Emmet County residential listings:

If you are interested in knowing more details, contact Lucia at (231)459-6745.

Market UPDATE for residential listings in Charlevoix County:

Are you interested in knowing what your home’s current market value is?

Contact Lucia at (231) 459-6745 for a market analysis.

Lucia offers extensive knowledge of the current market in Northern Michigan. Contact her for all of your real estate needs.

Renting VS owning

When it comes to choosing where we live there are a number of options. You can opt for the city, live in the country, or choose somewhere in between. A big decision you’ll have to make is whether to buy or rent. Committing to buying a home is a huge commitment and probably the largest financial decision you’ll ever make.

Why buy instead of rent?

When you rent, the place you occupy is not yours at the end of the day. In the long run, you may find that buying is cheaper than renting. At least with monthly mortgage payments, you’re putting your money into real estate/property you own rather than paying monthly rent to fund something that isn’t yours.
A big reason people chose to rent rather than buy is that it is less of a commitment. On the other hand, buying real estate could be your greatest investment or purchase!

Contact Lucia to start your home-buying search.
(231) 459-6745