The Return of the Northern Michigan Cottage Buyer

The past 6 or 7 years has been a very interesting run for the northern Michigan real estate market.  The economic decline in 2008 and 2009 lead to many buyers simply putting any purchase on hold while they waited for things to shake out.  In the early part of this decade, we saw the resurgence of buyers, beginning with Baby Boomers seeking to buy their retirement home in northern Michigan.  Many had already retired or were retiring in the near future and this purchase became a priority.  This allowed many markets to recover a lot of the losses seen in prior years.  This was especially true in communities with plentiful amenties like Traverse City.  Still missing from the market were the next generations of younger buyers looking for that pure weekend getaway.

Throughout the 80's and 90's, the Baby Boomers really drove the northern Michigan market  as they purchased and enjoyed cottages up north on weekends and other short trips.  When those same people decided they wanted to live full time up north, they looked to either upgrade or sell the family cottage to find a situation that was more suitable to full time life.  This left a glut of modest cabins on the market with no buyers.

It's great to see, now, that we have an influx of that next generation of vacation property buyers entering the market to allow their family the same experience they had as a kid.  These buyers are more willing to be a little more remote and buy more modest properties that aren't necessarily well suited for full time living.  It's been so much fun wathing these buyers, often with kids in tow, seek the property they feel will allow them to build many of the same memories they built during their own northern Michigan vacations.

This is good news for sellers whose homes were not very appealing to retirees.  Unlike their predecessors, though, many of these younger buyers are demaning nicer finishes and cabins or cottages with unique architectural character.  Hopefully the trend continues and we will see more of the true cottage properties find their way into the hands of the next generation.

We've enjoyed a terrific winter of sales once again and many of the best properties have already sold.  We typically see a lot of new inventory hit the market between now and summer, however so stay tuned for new opportunities!

When you're ready to find your own slice of northern Michigan or looking to sell your existing property, reach out to The Homewaters agent in your area.  Click HERE for a complete list of our agents and brokers and the areas they service.