Come see us at this weekend's Cottage and Lakefront Living Show in Novi!

Once again we'll be exhibiting at The Cottage and Lakefront Living Show in Novi this weekend.  The show starts Thursday and runs through Sunday afternoon. It's a terrific mix of boats, toys, docks, contractors, clothing and anything else that makes waterfront and cottage living more enjoyable. I'm personally looking forward to checking out those giant floating mats I've been seeing at the sandbar on Torch Lake.  At the same time MUCC's Outdoorama show is going on in the same space.  This show features all things hunting and fishing.  Admission to one show gets you into both!  A number of our agents from throughout northern Michigan will be there to answer any questions you might have about buying or selling in northern Michigan or just our areas in general.  Stop by when you get in and grab a Homewaters bag to carry all your goods with. See you there!

Would you use a real estate site that only has 60% of the listings?

That's what might just be happening with Trulia and, eventually Zillow.  For those of us in the industry, we've been watching a very interesting battle ensue among the giants of online listing information.  This is going to get a little boring for a minute but the background is important.

The three largest players of online listing information continue to be Zillow.com, Trulia.com and REALTOR.com.  REALTOR.com is the only site which gains its listing information directly from every REALTOR MLS in the nation making it extremely timely and accurate.  Zillow, Trulia and dozens of other sites get their data from a national listing syndication service called Listhub.  Listhub contracts with over 500 MLS systems nationwide to collect their data and redistribute it in a more streamlined format to sites like Trulia, Zillow and others.  While the Listhub feed includes most of the MLS data in the country, there are still a large number of MLS providers that don't participate so sites like Zillow and Trulia utilize other sources of information that tend to be much less accurate.  This is a source of frustration for REALTORS and our seller clients because we know its essential that the information shown online is absolutely accurate.

Here's where it gets interesting.  In late 2014 News Corp purchased Move Inc. who owns REALTOR.com and more importantly Listhub, the syndication service who feeds Zillow, Trulia and other sites.  Move Inc announced that it is no longer going to provide the Listhub feed to Trulia or Zillow as of April 7th, 2015.  According to some industry professionals this will eliminate as much as 40% of the listing information that Zillow and Trulia currently have access to.  Would you use a real estate website that has only 60% of the available properties?  I think not.

Zillow is trying to develop direct relationships with individual MLSs and large brokerages to get the data they need but many are likely not going to play along due to the inaccuracies of the site.  It will be an interesting scenario to watch and one that will really affect our industry.

One thing that won't change is the fact that www.homewaters.net pulls our data directly from 5 different MLS systems in northern Michigan.  This makes our site incredibly accurate for those searching our service areas.  Our lifestyle focused searches also make the process of finding ALL the available listings that would be a fit for you and your family a breeze.  If you've been using Trulia or Zillow, it may be time to find another home and we'd love to help in your search.

Price Reduced on this Beautiful Listing in Houghton Lake, MI 115 Oak Marr

Sellers are relocating! Don't miss this supreme home! Incredible subdivision in the

Houghton Lake area. Seeing is believing! Make your appointment today. Just reduced! 2,000 sq. with additional full basement and extra garage and extra deep lot! Call Midge with Homewater Real Estate to set up a showing!  989-312-3432  

Gladwin County Lakes...Winter Fun Is On Ice!!

Gladwin County Lakes....Winter Fun Is On Ice!!!

Featuring Wixom Lake, Secord Lake, Sugar Springs (Lake Lancer & Lake Lancelot), Smallwood Lake and many more!    

                                                                             

    Secord Lake

There are currently 55 active listings for Secord Lake ranging from $19,900 - $365,000

Secord Lake is an approximately 2,000 acre serene and picturesque all sports lake. The lake takes in Secord Township and is formed by the Tittabawassee River system. It would take many hours of boat travel to see the entire lake! You will find miles of shoreline and much sandy swimming!  Many people enjoy Secord Lake with pontoons, ski boats, jet ski's, fishing boats and it's not uncommon to see a canoe or kayak during the quieter times.

Below are featured listings for Secord Lake:

1686 Middlepoint Dr., Alger, Michigan $64,900  

Click Here to search more available listings for Secord Lake

Wixom Lake 

There are currently 68 active listings on Wixom Lake ranging in price from $13,900-$469,900 

Wixom Lake is an approximately 2,000 acre all sports lake, inside Gladwin County and located in Beaverton, Michigan. The lake takes in Billings and Tobacco Township and is formed by the Tittabawassee River system and is also fed by the Cedar and Tobacco Rivers. 
It would take many hours of boat travel to see the entire lake! Many people enjoy Wixom Lake with pontoons, ski boats, jet ski's, fishing boats and it's not uncommon to see a canoe or kayak during the quieter times. Be sure to check out "Pontoon Alley", a local and very popular area to spend the afternoon on Wixom Lake! Pontoon Alley boasts a shallow, sandy bottom swimming area with a very festive atmosphere!   

Below are featured listings on Wixom Lake. Click on the address to learn more about them.

4522 Lakeview, Beaverton, Michigan $119,000

4508 Lakeview, Beaverton, Michigan $134,900

Click here to search available listings on Wixom Lake

Sugar Springs ~ Lake Lancer & Lake Lancelot 

There are currently 203 active listings on Lake Lancer and Lake Lancelot ranging in price from $1,500 to $380,000

Lake Lancer & Lancelot offer 1,000 acres of water fun with Lake Lancer at 780 acres and Lancelot at 230 acres. These two lakes are private and are for residents of Sugar Springs, a planned community with over 3,200 platted acres. There are 15 private beach clubs along the shores of the lakes for association members only. Some of the beach clubs offer restrooms, showers, swimming, picnic areas and boat launches. Fisherman enjoy the tranquility of the lakes and the Northern Pike, Walleye, Bass and Panfish that can readily be caught from both Lake Lancer & Lake Lancelot. Lake waters are tested annually and treated several times per year to control weeds and infestation allowing boaters, skiers, jet skiers and swimmers to enjoy the waters! 

Below are listings featured in Sugar Springs: 

4696 Canniche Court (vacant lot), Gladwin, Michigan $109,000 

Click here to search available listings in Sugar Springs 

Smallwood Lake 

There are currently 29 active listings for near by Smallwood Lake ranging from $24,900-$214,900

Below are featured listing for Smallwood Lake:  

1580 Moose Drive, Gladwin, Michigan $98,000

Lot 8 of River Oaks Point, Gladwin, Michigan $79,000

Click here to search more available listings for Smallwood Lake!!

Gladwin County has many lakes that offer boating, fishing, swimming and so much more!  Year round fun!  
Click on the links below to see the listing on those specific lakes:

Pratt Lake
Wiggins Lake
Ross Lake 
Elk Lake 
Blue Lake 
Indian Lake
McGilvery Lake

Introducing Shane Wyatt, Homewaters' featured artist of the month

Local resident, Shane Wyatt is our featured artist of the month for February 2015!  A Native Traverse Citian, Shane lives in TC and specializes in finding and capturing unique Scenic and Landscape photography in and around northern Michigan. His photos are available as traditional fine art prints or on artist canvas. Images can be found (and Liked!) on Facebook as Focused on Northern Michigan https://www.facebook.com/FocusedOnNorthernMichigan

Thanks so much for participating, Shane!!  Your work has me motivated to get out on a hike to enjoy just how spectacular the scenery is during our northern Michigan winters!

If you or anyone you know is a passionate photographer or painter and would like to participate in the program, send an e-mail to info@homewaters.net and we'll get them on the list of artists.  It's so great to see the beauty of northern Michigan from so many different perspectives.

Gladwin & Clare County Homes Real Estate Market Snapshot January

January 2015 Real Estate Market Snapshot for Gladwin and Clare County Area Homes

Featured Listing!

Elk Lake Cabin with Public Access Across the Street

6530 N. Shore, Gladwin

$59,900

MLS #162747

Market Snapshot                      

Active Listings: 783 (70 new listings came on the market in January)

Average Asking Price: $105,543

Average Days on Market : 258

Range of Asking Prices: $7,500 - $875,000

Sold: 40 Sold in December (69 sold in December)

Average Asking Price of Sold Listings: $69,441
Average Selling Price of Sold Listings: $61,592

Average Days on Market of Sold Listings: 248 (22 days more than December)

Sellers Received: 88.6% of their asking price

Total Residential Sales Volume: $2,597,403 (down from $5,259,466 in December)
Listings Sold by Price Range
0-99,999: 33 (down 17from December)
100,000-199,999: 9 (down 12 from December)
200,000-299,999: 2 (same as December
300,000-399,999: 0 (same as December)
400,000 and above: 0 (same as December) 

   

   SOLD! Wixom Lake Waterfront!!!

**49 Homes Expired off the Market in December

Absorption Rate = 1.9Years