Macomb County Real Estate - Macomb Michigan Homes for Sale

It's Friday and time to promote another local business and tell you about a Gift of Love from a Child to Heaven.

This past Tuesday I went to Glitz Salon to see my stylist Susan Wallace for my Christmas hair cut. As I sat waiting I noticed a young girl at the counter with a grown up hair cut. I said to her "Wow what a nice haircut and she turned and smiled". It was then that I noticed they were taking 3 cut pony tails and placing them in an envelope. The gal at the register said "We'll take care of this for you and make sure they receive them." They also told her she would receive a letter thanking her.

As she turned around her grandmother said to me "I brought in a little girl and I am walking out with a teenager". When they left I asked the gal at the front desk what was going on. She proceeded to tell me that the little girl was 12 years old and that last year her girlfriend died of cancer. So, since it was Christmas she wanted to have her long hair cut and sent to Locks of Love as a Christmas gift to her friend.

Well as you can imagine I was extremely touched by this young girl and what she had done. What a wonderful Gift of Love from a Child to Heaven. It touched me so much that I decided to not only promote Glitz Salons but also the organization that this young girl used.

Susan told me that the Glitz Salon will cut your hair for free if you are donating it to Locks of Love. So if you have long hair and have thought about getting it cut please remember this organization. For more information view this short video by Nexxus.

If you live in the Macomb or Oakland County area, you can find Glitz Salons in Rochester, Clarkston, Orion Twp and Lake Orion. Susan Wallace my stylist is a wonderful very experienced beautician. She is a Redken certified hair-colorist and worked for many years in New York. She currently works out of the Rochester Hills salon which is located at 1254 Walton Rd, Rochester Hills, MI 48307. For an appointment with Susan call 248-650-9300 and be sure to let her know I sent you.

HOMES for SALE

178 homes are currently on the the market

162 are private sellers

10 of those are short sales

16 are bank owned

28 homes are pending a closing

10 homes have closed in the past 30 days

40% of those were bank owned

CONDOS for SALE

51 condos are currently on the the market

47 are private sellers

4 of those are short sales

4 are bank owned

4 condos are pending a closing

0 condos have closed in the past 30 days

0% of those were bank owned

As you can see regardless of what you hear from the media homes and condos are still selling. In fact, sales are up from three months ago.

HOMES for SALE

443 homes are currently on the the market

401 are private sellers

44 of those are short sales

42 are bank owned

64 homes are pending a closing

45 homes have closed in the past 30 days

67% of those were bank owned

CONDOS for SALE

178 condos are currently on the the market

150 are private sellers

8 of those are short sales

28 are bank owned

18 condos are pending a closing

9 condos have closed in the past 30 days

44% of those were bank owned

As you can see regardless of what you hear from the media homes and condos are still selling. In fact, sales are up from three months ago.

HOMES for SALE

526 homes are currently on the the market

420 are private sellers

34 of those are short sales

106 are bank owned

79 homes are pending a closing

46 homes have closed in the past 30 days

67% of those were bank owned

CONDOS for SALE

325 condos are currently on the the market

282 are private sellers

23 of those are short sales

43 are bank owned

29 condos are pending a closing

15 condos have closed in the past 30 days

60% of those were bank owned

As you can see regardless of what you hear from the media homes and condos are still selling. In fact, sales are up from three years ago.

HOMES for SALE

548 homes are currently on the the market

496 are private sellers

64 of those are short sales

52 are bank owned

81 homes are pending a closing

87 homes have closed in the past 30 days

71% of those were bank owned

CONDOS for SALE

114 condos are currently on the the market

106 are private sellers

6 of those are short sales

9 are bank owned

19 condos are pending a closing

14 condos have closed in the past 30 days

75% of those were bank owned

As you can see regardless of what you hear from the media homes and condos are still selling. In fact, sales are up from three months ago. 

Several years ago Macomb County ranked as one of the fastest growing counties in Michigan. However, with the credit crunch and automotive being hit so hard, many of our businesses have taken a beating with people leaving the area. In an effort to help out our local business partners we decided to feature one every Friday. Many will be referrals from family, friends and clients and a few will come from personal experience.

Today, I would like to write about Dr. Butler from Romeo Foot and Ankle Clinic.

Usually every year about this time I end up visiting Dr. Butler's office - aching feet from walking the malls for Christmas gifts, the cold weather and the cement slab at the office. One year it was a stress fracture from running on our dirt road. Another from those high heel shoes us girls wear. Well this year the aching started right before Thanksgiving. I found myself limping a bit but figured it would pass. However, even sitting at my desk my foot was throbbing. So off to Dr. Butler I went.

He is the nicest doctor. Very friendly, very professional and actually spends some time with you. His staff is also very pleasant from the front office to the back. Since I am a real estate agent the conversation usually ends up about homes for sale but it's nice to be able to share my knowledge.

Okay back to the foot - it seems I have developed the dreaded Planter Fasciitis My son says many basketball players get it along with runners. How did I get it? Well I never was the athletic type but when my boys left for college in 2002, I decided to train for a marathon. Ed thought I was nuts when I said "I'm going to run 26.2 miles to raise on for the Arthritis Foundation's Joints in Motion". But being the nice guy that he is he decided to train with me. Since then I have done quite a bit of running, walking, dancing and training.

Well this time Doctor Butler took care of me again. He gave me a corticosteroid injection, which by the way hurt like hell but he told me it would. Then they wrapped my foot and said come back in January.Today I am feeling better.

Now talking about feet is not really a pleasant thing to talk about but if you need to visit a good Foot Doctor/Podistrist and you live in the Macomb County area, I would highly recommend Romeo Foot and Ankle Clinic. They have two locations to serve you.

• 64580 Van Dyke Suite A, Washington Township, MI 48095 (586) 752-3519 
• 15055 22 Mile Rd, Suite A-1, Shelby Township, MI 48315 (586) 247-2050

For more Macomb County business owners visit our Local Partners section.

My life used to be so so simple...till My Computer caused Brain Over Load. It all started back in 1981 when I decided to get a degree as a computer programmer. Back then I was learning Cobal, Fortran and Assembler computer languages. What can I say I'm old. Anyway, I remember my mind being pushed and pulled every which way as I tried to do my homework assignments. I figured I was having a hard time because I was a dizzy blond. I had no idea what the future would bring.

Fast forward to December 2008 ...I never did become a computer programmer I became a real estate agent. Long story don't ask. However, I have been able to use my computer background a lot as a real estate agent. I also realized I am not only a dizzy blond but have ADD, Menopause brain fog, CRS (can't remember stuff) and now brain over load thanks to my computer.

So how did my simple life get too this point? Well let me just say I am using things daily that were not even around in 1981. Things like:

• two 22" flat screen monitors that are full color not monochrome
• a desk top computer and to think we laughed at the thought of a computer in every home
  
• I'm using a wireless mouse (I hate real ones) and wireless keyboard - I hated typing class
• daily I use Google to find things I need to know about instead of using a stack of Encyclopedia's
• my monitor has an IGoogle on it to keep me organized - thanks to Missy Caulk
• I use a site called Active Rain to write a thing called a Blog - so long diary
• better yet to see what other Bloggers post I use RSS feeds - thanks Brad Anderson looks like my brain
• oh yea my name has changed to @CindyKnight because I tweet things on Twitter - thanks Kim Wood
• I use things like PDF's, e-fax and e-mail - and use the copier, fax machine and mailman less
• the agents at the office call me to fix the Network - not ABC, CBS or NBC either
• our websites are worked on by me only now I use HTML, CSS and Java - not coffee
• when I want to laugh I check out Videos on YouTube and they are not beta or VHS
  
• I belong to FaceBook and LinkedIn - Social Networks and I don't leave the house
• then there's the journal on my desk full of 14 pages of passwords

So much for a simple life...but honestly I Love It!!!  As Roger a fellow blogger said it we are Addicted.

Living in Michigan I know homes are selling for less and the Big Three is looking for financial help. However, are things really as bad as the press tells us? Do you think they make things sound worse to get more readers and more viewers? I remember as a kid my mom saying "misery loves company" and "bad news travels fast" now I know why.

So how bad are things and should we believe everything the press tells us. Remember the election? It seems like light years away now but look at all the bad press each candidate received. Turn on Fox News you hear one thing, turn on MSNBC you hear another. You never knew who to believe. Funny thing is now they both are telling the same story.

• Banks are not loaning money to small businesses - we're a small business and we got a loan
• Credit card companies are reducing credit limits - they just increased our limit on a few cards
• No one is getting a loan to buy a home - we have had 11 closings this quarter and 1 to go
• Credit card companies are raising interest rates - we just opened a zero interest credit card
• The big 3 are not selling cars because no one can get a loan - we know people who bought cars

We hear the press tell us things are really bad but that's not what we always see. Recently my brother called and asked if we were closing on the homes we sold"? I said Yes, why do you ask ? He proceeded to tell me that he had just attended a meeting where several economists and analysts were saying the banks are not giving loans so no one can buy a home. Now my brother works for a large company that sells financial products. Why do you think they are telling them this? Did they just listen to the media too?

Obviously, they are not getting there information from Macomb County. Folks here missed the news reports because every weekend the restaurants have a 30-40 minute wait. Yesterday the parking lot at Costco was so packed I had to park in the last row. Thank God I need to lose weight and like walking. Last week we waited for 15 min to eat lunch at Olive Garden on a Tuesday afternoon at 1:00pm? Let me tell you it was not filled with people on their lunch hour. They say homes are not selling - well this quarter Macomb county had 2845 closings compared to last year during the same period when we had 2442. Yes, some are having trouble but no all.

Now we can all continue to listen to the Bad News Bears and think the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Or we can turn off the negative press and do as Jim Carrey does in Yes Man and use the power of Positive Thinking. I prefer the later. How about You?

I for one am sick and tired of seeing housing values continue to Plummet. Now I may get some backlash for saying this but I feel many of these bank agents are out for no one else but themselves.  Daily I am amazed to see what they price homes at. Personally I think it's job security for them. Price a home super low, sell it for even less and then all the neighbors will say the heck with it and foreclose. Oh let me guess, more business for them. If they keep it up we'll be selling homes in Macomb County for less than the price of gas.

Okay, I get it the Macomb County area is hurting because of the big 3. But if someone bought a home 2 years ago for $195,000 and it's sold at the sheriff auction for $162,800 why would you price the home at $120,000. Nope it's not trashed so that's not the reason. Homes like it sold last year at $100 sq ft and they are selling this one for $66 sq ft. The township says the value is $194,400 and is collecting taxes based on that amount. So why not list it higher? Yea yea yea "it's supply and demand". If housing values continue to plummet there will not be a demand for houses. No one will want to buy a home for fear the home will be worthless in a couple months.

At the rate we are going it's going to be 2020 before anyone is able to move again. Now I am not saying I have the answer here but please can someone tell me why the banks, that we bailed out are allowing this to happen? Why are they willing to walk away from so much money. I'll tell you why - because the asset managers the banks hire only use "Certain" real estate agents.

These banks need to "Spread the Wealth" and hire more agents and from different companies, instead of using the same agents over and over. Most of these bank agents are so busy the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. On top of that they are using secretaries to perform duties that should be performed by licensed real estate agents. By spreading the wealth the banks would receive better marketing and make more money rather than taking huge losses. Just me 2 cents. What do you Think?