The “Motor City” is Coming Back for More By Carole VanSickle Ellis At the end of 2023, Detroit, Michigan, was enjoying some unseasonably warm weather thanks to a “no-snow December” that posted high temperatures in the 40s and about one-tenth of an inch of snow for the Motor City (vs. “normal” December temperatures around 30° Fahrenheit and snowfalls of more than 10 inches). Maybe it was the real estate market.
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The “Crossroads of America” Gears Up for a Busy 2024 By Carole VanSickle Ellis In January 2023, Zillow analysts released their much-anticipated “hottest housing markets” list. Not surprisingly, last year’s list was dominated by the south and southeast; only two midwestern cities even made the list. This year, however, Indiana’s “Crossroads of America,” Indianapolis, catapulted to number four on the list, leaping over all of last year’s frontrunners to snag
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2024 Could be a Great Year for the “City of Kansas” By Carole VanSickle Ellis As early in American history as 1803, Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO), was attracting new residents thanks to its location, which was, as explorers Lewis and Clark put it, “a good place to build a fort.” Not long after this report reached New York state, the city was formed by a group of settlers led by
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How Real Estate Will Surprise Us in 2024 By Carole VanSickle Ellis At the start of 2023, many real estate analysts expected the year to bring a “return to normal” for real estate the same way many Americans had hoped for a “return to normal” following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in previous years. However, as the year progressed, real estate trends clearly showed “normal” might not look quite the way
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Once Again, Real Estate Investors Prove Absolutely Anything is Possible By Carole VanSickle Ellis In January of this year, things were, in some ways, very different than they are today. Interest rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage were hovering just under 6.5%; the national median sales price for a single-family home had fallen slightly to $385,000, and Moody Analytics was predicting rental rates would rise by 2.5% over the next
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Hot Waters & a Hot Market for “America’s First Resort” By Carole VanSickle Ellis In Hot Springs, Arkansas, 47 natural thermal springs send about 1 million gallons of water measuring 143°F flowing through the area before emptying into Lake Hamilton. The city, which is sometimes referred to as “The Valley of the Vapors” and has dubbed itself “America’s First Resort,” has been primarily supported by the hospitality industry since long
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