Starting as a one time event in 1995, Oakland County and Woodward Avenue just celebrated its thirteenth annual Woodward Dream Cruise.  The history of the Dream Cruise began in 1994 when Nelson House, a Ferndale, Michigan plumber and carpenter, wanted to raise money to create a children's soccer field in his community.  The first Dream Cruise was launched in 1995 where only about 30,000 to 40,000 spectators were expected for this event but over 250,000 attended.  Now the Dream Cruise occurs every third Saturday of August and attracts over 1.7 million visitors.  As a classic car festival, it is the world's largest one-day celebration of car culture where more than 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, classic, custom and special interest vehicles are on display or cruise Woodward Ave.  Mostly... 08/22/2007

Our daughter, Katya, was born into a family where both of her parents work together as Realtors. As such, she has no idea what it is like to have parents with “normal jobs”, where they stop working when they get home for the day, don’t answer business calls after 6, have weekends that consist of family time; all have dinner together, and other things that the rest of the world does that we don’t. She likes driving by the homes that we have been entrusted to market and she has been known to tell her grandmother with pride, “That’s my mother’s listing.” She has told me exactly what it will be like when we move, after our house gets “old.” Clearly she does not understand that we are not moving just because moving is going on around her all the time. Since she was born, Katya has popped in... 08/09/2007

Over the last few weeks we have been working on the newest addition to our expanding e-real estate empire.  OK, I exaggerate slightly about the empire.  We have, however, worked diligently for the last year on improving our web presence to better serve our clients and to attract new clients.  So far, so good.  miBirmingham.com is our newest site.  We plan to make it a destination for Birmingham MI real estate information and home sales.   For the Realtors out there, this is our second Point2Agent site, but the first time we have really gotten one successfully launched.  I have been a homes.com subscriber for years and it would difficult for me to say I have been satisfied with homes.com in a long time.  I am very impressed with P2A's services and flexibility.  They have a lot of feature... 06/09/2007

We hear it all the time. "Doctors make too much money." "Lawyers make too much money." "(Fill in the blank)  make too much money." I've never been one to really care how much the professionals I hire to work for me make. I want the best and I am willing to pay for it and it is usually well worth it in the long run. Moreover, until you step in their shoes and see what they really need to do to provide you with the service you need when you go to them, you really are in no position to criticize. The Sixty Minutes' segment, "Chipping Away to Realtor's Six Percent" is another example of the above. Of course, it begins with the implication that realtors earn too much by indicating what the typical charge would be for selling a half a million dollar home. Forget the fact that most of the coun... 05/27/2007

The March 2007 Sales statistics provided by the Southeast Michigan Multiple Listing Services has some good news and bad. Lets start with the good. Compared to March 2006, the median sale prices in Birmingham Michigan, Beverly Hills Michigan, and Bloomfield Township Michigan were up by 34.62%, 23.38% and 15.53% respectively but the number of homes sold were down 4%, 21.43% and 11.76%. In Troy, Michigan home sales were up by 22.45% but the median price decreased by 16.27%. This might mean that the housing market is beginning to settle down in Southeast Michigan. If your considering buying a home, now is the time to jump in. Consider the analogy of buying stock listed on an exchange. You never really know when the price has hit the bottom. None of us have a crystal ball. But once the upsid... 05/18/2007

Some of you may recall a post I did a while back about Habitat for Humanity taking our house away. Actually they were just taking building materials to resell in their the Restore from my childhood home before it met the wrecking ball.  It was a huge win-win for all involved. We sold the house in 2003, and it is looking like the new home on the site is nearing completion. Quite a change from the home I knew as 600 Lakeside, Birmingham, MI 48009. In fact, not even the address remains. Now the city has ‘retired’ 600 and given the home the address of 620 Lakeside. I think they stopped forwarding my mail a few years ago anyway. And another step toward complete transformation of the property. When I lived there, our home was about 2,700 square feet. The new home is over 7,000, though I wond... 05/12/2007

Ray Martin, CBS News' financial advisor's article "Selling Your Home Solo" dated April 21, 2007, is nothing more than realtor bashing and misinformation. Martin starts by saying that real estate brokers "appear to nothing more than put your home on the Multiple Listing Service and when another agent sells your home, the listing agent collects half the commission." Obviously, Mr. Martin has never worked with a good full service agent. I am a top agent in Birmingham, Michigan and I sell 75% of the homes that I list. A good full service agent has to properly evaluate your home in terms of what must be done to make it marketable ie. painting, repairs, etc., He must also make sure that the home is priced so that it has a chance of attracting a buyer. Then, once that is done, it must be marke... 05/07/2007

According to the 2006 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers, 95% (ninety five percent) of home sellers were satisfied with the service provided to them by their full service realtor when selling a home. However, only 50% (fifty percent) were satisfied with the service of their discount realtor. I am not surprised at all. Before I affiliated with RE/MAX, I worked in a discount shop. I can tell you it is absolutely true that you get what you pay for. Most people want the very best service and are willing to pay for it because it is worth it. In this challenging market we are in, sellers need maximum marketing exposure which the discount shops cannot provide because they cannot afford it. Today, sellers need way more than just having their home placed on ... 04/27/2007

I am a Royal Oak realtor and several agents in my office in Birmingham, Michigan do not have a website and I am assisting them in choosing the best one.  I have Advanced Access and the "standard" Point2Agent.  One of our realtors has homes.com and thinks that is the best.  So, I spoke with a sales rep from Homes.com and they were trying to sell me the value of paying to have my listings there ($90/month plus set-up fee) and said for $10 more per month an agent can purchase a website.  He then had me compare (with an SEO tool) the three above and Realtor.com and Remax.com to show that Homes.com gets by far the majority of the internet traffic.  Some of the agents are looking for a site that will automatically download their listings from the MLS so they don't have to input them and none ... 04/12/2007

Recently I've been thinking about the Internet and how fascinating it really is.  We live in such an "information now" society.  Everything we want to know and need to know is right there at our fingertips.... LITERALLY! In addition to the "need & want to know" stuff on the web, the biggest things that I see happening is people using the web as a major source of socialization.  Maybe it's entertainment??  This really fascinates me because I'm a very social person by nature.  I love getting to know people.  I'm inquisitive, and LOVE making new friends.  I'd be a perfect person to really jump on that bandwagon.  A few months ago, I would say that I was on that bandwagon.... Blogging away!  What I've struggled with is how one-dimensional the Internet feels to me.  So I have to assume that ... 02/20/2007

Is your agent selling you short? Once again, I'm standing up to say that the agent you hire MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE. Sorry for the shouting. I am a little riled up about this one. A few days ago I came across a couple of listings in the MLS that I find not just irresponsible, but bordering on malpractice. I know that mistakes can be made, but big ones like these cost sellers a lot of time and money. A good Realtor is worth every penny she earns, and most days I don't see anything like this. Let me make it clear that this is the exception not the rule. A Birmingham home has been on the market for months. I bet they don't get any showings. The listing agent listed it with NO BASEMENT. In these days of the computer searches, there are usually 3 primary boxes an agent clicks when they are lo... 01/14/2007

About Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a vibrant city, attractive for its outstanding public schools, wonderful downtown shopping district, convenient location and excellent community resources like the Baldwin Public Library, the Birmingham Historical Museum, the Community House and the Ice Rink. The season for our Farmer's Market has been extended, the park at Quarton Lake is undergoing a beautiful transformation and Shain Park hosts concerts, art fairs and the Dream Cruise throughout the warmer months. The "Rail District" is home to many new galleries and businesses. Birmingham golfers enjoy 2 public courses, Lincoln Hills and Springdale, and the opportunity to join Birmingham Country Club. Our family has lived in Birmingham since 1969, and the community continues to impress us wit... 12/24/2006

To those of our readers from places other than SE Michigan, that title is very ho-hum. “So what?”, you ask. But readers nearby know that half million dollar homes in SE Michigan have usually experienced much longer market times in 2006. I’ve held off announcing this sale since it went under contract in October. No postcards to the neighbors even. I’m cautious, even though I knew the buyers were well qualified and excited about their purchase. I preferred to make it through closing. That happened late last week, and I think both the buyers and the sellers are thrilled. So what is that I want people to take away from this? Things I have said before. A good Realtor can help you price your home for the current market conditions. It’s an art, not a science. The more houses I see and sell the... 12/18/2006

I admit to coming from a family of proud bargain hunters. We all love the thrill of the chase. For some of us, its an obsession, for others its a source of entertainment. So today I decided to check in on the 10 most expensive homes listed in Oakland County, just to see what my money would get me. These days, you have to list your home at a price over $5,000,000 to qualify for a top 10 spot on my list. Ladies and gentelmen, today I came across a bargain hunter’s dream. I’ve never saved $3,000,000 on anything! Have you? 730 Vaughan Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Let me draw your attention to the home with the highest current list price in the area, 730 Vaughan Road. A spec house built by Sally Russell Building Co., rumors abounded during construction about who the home was being built ... 10/14/2006

 BirminghamWe're constantly looking at new listings and new sales in the MLS.  Homes are selling every day. There is good news in this market.  While the days on market have almost doubled since last year, we are seeing higher average sales prices and higher median sales prices.  Higher end homes are selling as well.  There just happen to be more of them out there.  Today there are 689 single family homes and condominiums on the market in Birmingham.  333 homes and condos have sold since January 1, 2006.  We just took a look back at 2005, and there were 336 sales during the first three quarters.  With all of the economic doom and gloom we hear every day in Southeast Michigan, we think that flat sales are GREAT news, and a message that most people are not hearing.  Heck, everyone's got a... 09/30/2006

Dear Mr. &  Mrs. Seller, I am sorry your marriage didn't make it.  Really, it makes me quite sad.  I felt your loss when I walked through your beautiful house last night, in spite of gracious hostessing by your Realtor. Her broker open was well attended.  The shrimp were delicious, by the way.  But your house no longer feels like a home.  I know you know.  Your house feels sad.I don't know the specifics of your separation, but I imagine that you are both very interested in having the home that your family once shared sell for the highest possible price.  For the most part, people don't feel happy when they enter sad houses.  Most people like the home buying experience to be something happy.  With a sad house you are likely to attract bargain hunters who may see that they have a negotia... 09/28/2006

Ruth Spencer, a consumer reporter for Detroit's local NBC affiliate put out an awful consumer tip in yesterday's Detroit Free Press.  The name of her featured segment is "Ruth to the Rescue."  Following is her snippet, and my reply, which I will be sending as a letter to the editor.RUTH TO THE RESCUE : Get a home inspector who'll tell it like it isHome inspectors who want future referrals from a real estate agent have been known not to tell it like it is if the truth could cause a buyer to back out of a sale. Try a home inspector recommended by an attorney or a friend. Ruth Spencer, Local 4 News Dear Ruth, that is not only insulting to both the Realtor and the professional home inspector, its just plain bad advice.  As a Realtor, I've made hundreds of recommendations to my clients when ... 09/26/2006

I've spent the last hour or so deleting about 18 months worth of posts from our Oakland County real estate blog.  Its kind of scary to push delete and know my work could be gone for good.  Google, msn and yahoo had found me and visited often.  The occasional client stopped by.  New customers somehow stumbled across it and called us.  I still have about 150 more posts to dump.  Since I have to do it one by one, its actually like a little trip down memory lane.  I am getting old, so my memory is going quickly these days.Anyway, soon enough, I will invite you all to a blog-warming party.  We are upgrading off of blogger and onto our own domain.  We still have lots to do, and things will change over the coming weeks as we get settled in.  It's a move we have needed to make for quite a whil... 09/12/2006

I promised a follow up to my article about the $100 gas card giveaway.  I dragged Lipnitz away from her desk early this morning, insisting that we show up to the broker open before 11:00 to ensure that I leave with a gas card in hand.  She said I was overestimating the turnout.  Well, when we turned through the gated entry to the sub, the street was lined with cars!  The doors opened early, and we were #20 and #21 to sign in and snag $100 Mobil/Exxon cards.  Mike Cotter, our broker, and his lovely assistant, Kathryn, showed up only a few minutes after us.  So our office walked out $400 richer.  That is Mike in the picture, with our 4 cards, back at our office later. The house was spectacular.  We loved it. For a home priced at $3,750,000, I expect to be “wowed,” and I was! We had a cha... 09/12/2006

After years of planning and fund raising, Birmingham's Booth Park is about to make a major transformation.  Its not going to look anything like it did when I played there as a child.  But I know my daughter is going to LOVE the new sled hill and playscape.  Sept. 5-10, volunteers will spend their days building a community playground at Booth Park. Eight hundred adult volunteers -- and tools -- are needed to help with construction and related jobs during the week of construction. Volunteers who are skilled in construction and those who are not, are needed. Especially in need are volunteers to fill shifts on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 5-7. Shifts run from 8:00 a.m.-noon, 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.-sundown (approximately 8:30 p.m.) Construction will begin on Tuesday, Sept.... 08/30/2006