When it comes to buying a home, there is a lot to think about. From the location, to how many bedrooms, to garage space, there are multiple factors to consider. How about buying an existing home versus buying new construction? We have lived in both an existing home and in a new construction home, and while there are definitely pros to both, I think it is important to highlight why new construction is a great option.

1. New construction homes are move-in ready.

While this may seem like a fairly obvious point, I think that it is an important one to reiterate. While an existing home may have some old charm, oftentimes, it does require some work, whether that be simply updating some outdated countertops or as costly as replacing an old roof. The…

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Video Transcript:

Hey, I'm Steve Volkers and we're the Steve Volkers Group. I think it's like a lair now. I feel like this is our like, like secret sauce lair but we are doing the July numbers in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is basically Kent county. The data that we get from our association each month, big cab behind the camera puts together.

This booklet of information. It is data that is, is accessible by agents, but Kev puts all of his fancy spins on it, adds all kinds of math to it. And so then I get to spill out the information that Kev does with real life stories, working with buyers and sellers. So we have been talking about the market shift or last month, if you played along all the verbs or all the nouns or whatever, I'm not good…

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Download the Data PDF

Video transcript:

Hey, I'm Steve Volkers. This is the Steve Volkers group, which is my name kind of goofy. Right. But it's my company. So it's my name. We are talking market data and we're gonna talk, this is, uh, the July episode, but talking June to the past and we've been rolling with this Kev. I feel like we got a pattern going.

I talk too long, even though I'm gonna be sort of shorter every time in my mind, but there's always good things to talk about. This came out of just my 16 years of experience. A lot of people ask me about the market what's happening in residential real estate market in west, Michigan and economy and those kind of things.

And I just like keeping up with it. So, uh, Kev was like, we…

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I find that it's easy for buyers to criticize homes that they view because they want the best. Homes are expensive, it’s a big decision and they want the most they can afford with the highest quality materials, design, and no imperfections. Who wouldn’t want that, but in reality, very few homes will be perfect from the moment we walk into a showing for the next buyer. If you’re looking for perfection and nothing to change, my suggestion is to research new construction and we can go that route. A home that isn’t new construction will rarely be perfect and that’s because a home is more than just materials. 

I like to think that people putting their home on the market truly try their best in getting it prepared to appeal to the most people and put…

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Hey, I'm Steve Volkers broker owner of the Steve Volkers group here in the great city of Grand Rapids, Michigan and summer has started for us. Sun's coming out right now, and 61 degrees today feels like summer. But anyway, it's kind of fun to be able to enjoy what we call is bingeing summer in west Michigan, but you're not here to listen to me.

Talk about summer and all my fun activities, your here, because Kevin and I are throwing down. The monthly data, right for the last month kept throws this booklet together for free download…grab-it, snag-it. He's constantly adding new sheets. So he added the, the interest rate sheet right this month. So you can sort of see a trend since 2017 to now we're definitely higher, uh, where the, where the peak of…

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Submitting an offer in a competitive market where you know there are multiple offers feels a bit like sending a racehorse to the starting gate and hoping for the best. Given that it is May and the Kentucky Derby takes place on the first Saturday in May followed by the Preakness just a couple of weeks later, I can’t help but notice the similar feelings and emotions. For the Kentucky Derby 20 three-year-old racehorses are loaded into a starting gate after years of careful planning and strategizing, only to let loose to run hopefully what will be their best race for what is known as the greatest two minutes in sports. 

Anyone that knows horseracing, knows the favorite horse doesn’t always win the race. There are many factors at play in these races:…

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Video transcript:

Hey, I'm Steve Volkers broker owner of the Steve Volkers group in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And this is our monthly market update. This is like three in a row Kev. This is pretty legit that we're actually making. What is it like if you got to do 90 days for a habit? So maybe we're, maybe we're making a habit here, but we are talking market data.

Feel free to watch the last two episodes, which sort of built into this month's data. First episode was really about the inventory shortage, still feeling the crunch of that. We talked a lot about new construction and the fact that new construction hasn't come online. To having that issue, which is what the big spike was in pricing over the last six months.

Then, we started talking…

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Here is the blog post I never wanted to write. I would like to keep this blog only to pure real estate things related to Grand Rapids and the West Michigan area, but sometimes big topics can’t be ignored, even on a platform like this. I have no intention of getting political and I don’t have answers or solutions to these problems, but they are problems happening here, big serious problems. Big city problems some people might say. 

Many people are quick to share all the good news about how great the city and metropolitan area grows and accolades it receives in the news. For example, In February 2022 a study from Rocket Homes listed Grand Rapids as the number one city to raise a family in the country after reviewing the largest 150 metropolitan…

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Hey, I'm Steve Volkers and it is the next month. And we started talking about sort of financials and what's going on in the real estate market in West Michigan, but also sort of nationally what's playing out, which then becomes local. So every month Kevin and I are just recording this video.

And so this might be a long one. I don't know. Cause it's just really my rambling and the stuff I find in my head just it's about the finances this time about, uh, what's happening in the marketplace. So I've got a couple of stories, and data to back that up. Um, last month, if you missed it, we did talk about sort of the inventory and where I felt that was coming from. Mostly, it was based on new construction, right? So there's a new construction lack, um,…

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Battle bugs before they bite (or sting!) you — and check the attic for problems. Tackling five simple tasks now gives you a head start on spring. That leaves you plenty of worry-free time to enjoy the warmer weather.

#1 Tell Insects to Bug Off

Early spring warmth awakens insects, so start to protect your home now. Seal openings in eaves, decks, and other structures to keep out carpenter bees.

Nix mosquitoes by eliminating standing water or treating it with larvicide. Call a pro to destroy wasp and yellow jacket nests, unless you're experienced enough to engage in a bee battle.

#2 Prep Tools for Lawn Care

Ladies and gentlemen, start your mowers. April's the month to get this vital piece of equipment ready to roll. An unmaintained machine…

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