taco hill condos~

[GRGridGirl]

GR Town Planner: Thanks for the post. Interesting read.

-uw

[GRDadof3]

"Bookend" groups drive condo buying binge

...in the press yesterday. It's funny though that they only spoke to suburban condo realtors, and not downtown condo developers, where demand is probably the hottest.

[Sunlover38]

As a suburban condo owner of a brand new condo, I can say that it is rather enjoyable to have an investment but not have to do yard maintenance, snow removal, etc. I have 2x the amount of living space for about the same price as some of the downtown apartment feel type spaces. But if downtown location is important and you don't care about having much SF then these new condos popping up are probably perfect. I am just amazed at how many are being built and being filled up. Where is everyone coming from? I must be majorly out of the loop. haha

[GRDadof3]

As a suburban condo owner of a brand new condo, I can say that it is rather enjoyable to have an investment but not have to do yard maintenance, snow removal, etc. I have 2x the amount of living space for about the same price as some of the downtown apartment feel type spaces. But if downtown location is important and you don't care about having much SF then these new condos popping up are probably perfect. I am just amazed at how many are being built and being filled up. Where is everyone coming from? I must be majorly out of the loop. haha

Comparatively speaking, the 300 or 400 condos around downtown being marketed right now is just a drop in the bucket for the GR Metro area. Here are the top 10 builders of homes and condos in the metro, and total metro permits for last year:

58 Grand Rapids/Muskegon/Holland, Mich. TOTAL PERMITS: 6,207

RANK Parent Company/Company Closings Market Share

1 Eastbrook Homes 293 4.7%

2 Holwerda Builders 175 2.8%

3 Bosgraaf Homes 152 2.5%

4 KBH Homes 112 1.8%

5 Pulte Homes 106 1.7%

6 Roersma & Wurn Builders 91 1.5%

7 Sable Developing 73 1.2%

8 Lee Kitson Builders 36 0.6%

9 Allen Edwin Homes 32 0.5%

10 Bouwkamp Builders, David C. Bos Construction 30 0.5%

http://www.builderonline.com/content/build...=237&offset=500

Total permits of 6207 means that downtown residential development represents maybe 5% of the total market. I think there's room for more

BTW: At that site, check out the #1 market in the country with over 56,000 permits

[GR_Urbanist]

"The gentrification of neighborhoods due to this condo market is presently a good thing for the city of Grand Rapids. Right now Grand Rapids has an overwhelming affordable housing supply. It is one of the most affordable cities in the nation to live in."

I dont think too many people would be worried about GR being too afordable. I cannot imagine that they are hoping that it costs more to buy a home in this city. A runaway housing bubble, as we see on both coasts, is the worst thing that could happen to GR. $900,000 homes and $1,000 per month apartments/condos is what results. Dont think its not possible. Real estate speculators would love to get their hands on the GR market.

As someone who lives south of Wealthy, I welcome increased house prices, because it elevates the values of everything in the neighborhood"

Like making it more expensive for people to live there? Wouldnt the property taxes in that neighborhood go as their home's value go upward?

"it also brings more owner occupants into the neighborhood. Currently these neighborhoods to the south of Wealthy have a huge number of rentors, more of a balance would be a good thing for the city as a whole."

Renters because they are not able to afford full homes or condos that cost as much as full homes. They also live in places that are close to public trasportation and the daily service they rely on. Bringing balance is a great thing if these rentors can be part of it. if it just results in them getting pushed out, then what was the point?

"There is a huge demand for these places in urban areas and if it means we can get people to move into downtowns and we can preserve existing building stock, than it is a good thing, in the short term."

If it means afordable housing gets the boot then let them stay where they are. Having people move into the city at the expense of people who are here now isnt worth a nickel. This city should be big enough for everyone.

Yikes! I'm starting to sound like some sort of activist!

Maybe its time for another turkey sandwich

[GRDadof3]

Just a sidenote Urbanist, if you highlight each section that you are quoting from another forumer, and then click on the little "wrap in quote" icon (just above the box you are typing in next to the "insert image" icon), it will put that text in a quote box for you. It makes it easier for people to decipher which are theirs and which are your rebuttals. Although the forum frowns on quote-by-quote rebuttals anyway.

3. Do not create posts to antagonize other forumers. Doing so will result in the post being deleted, and as a minimum an immediate suspension.

No line by line rebuttal posts containing multiple quotes

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=260

I'll shut up now

[GR_Urbanist]

Just a sidenote Urbanist, if you highlight each section that you are quoting from another forumer, and then click on the little "wrap in quote" icon (just above the box you are typing in next to the "insert image" icon), it will put that text in a quote box for you. It makes it easier for people to decipher which are theirs and which are your rebuttals. Although the forum frowns on quote-by-quote rebuttals anyway.

3. Do not create posts to antagonize other forumers. Doing so will result in the post being deleted, and as a minimum an immediate suspension.

No line by line rebuttal posts containing multiple quotes

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=260

I'll shut up now

Holy Cow! I didnt think I was trying to antagonize anyone. Thats far from what I was trying to do.

Sorry about the formatting. I thought it was pretty ackward when I previewed it. I thought since Im a pretty lousy writer, that would be the only way anyone would be able to tell what I was writing about. Better luck next time.

I should try posting more photos anyway.

[GRDadof3]

Holy Cow! I didnt think I was trying to antagonize anyone. Thats far from what I was trying to do.

Sorry about the formatting. I thought it was pretty ackward when I previewed it. I thought since Im a pretty lousy writer, that would be the only way anyone would be able to tell what I was writing about. Better luck next time.

I should try posting more photos anyway.

I wasn't saying you were antagonizing anybody. Sorry. I just pulled the #3 rule from the UP rules where it states about the multiple quote rebuttals. I'm just trying to keep you in the clear from the REAL enforcers.

[fiest from the window]

when the market over flows i will be there when the taco chip crumbles and buy it all back at half prices. people are turning herit-rage hill houses into condos....this is maddning , GW bUSh will destroy the housing market in 06.

people are drawing too much attention to the housing now. its all over everybody is over extended on there loans with 120% loans and re-fi's intrest only. american is slipping back into slavery. we own nothing. and thats the problem. when ever people are making money the gov't comes in and messes it up. thats why i own avacado farms and futuristic bee polen houses. its a small take on the global economy. GW Bush doesnt mind me selling avacados-he knows i pay my taxes, and those trips to brazil were about the women.

-watch. mr. knowitall knows..

sidenote:

do you think women would get weirded out if this was in my bedroom?

i need a humidifer..

[twoshort]

was this from the future? hows the frog?

[GR Jackson]

I have that humidifier.

[AlexPKeaton]

This is the thing that I cant figure out. My building was 100% occupied. There were people even moving in after Me and my wife. And yet it is still being condo converted. If the place is almost empty and you cant give units away, then it makes perfect sense to look into other options. But other than making some fast cast from a conversion, I cannot figure the logic of doing it here.

[ninehigh]

This post is over two years old... when we actually could actually absorb more condos.

[AlexPKeaton]

Haha...I didn't realize that. I saw an unread thread and assumed it was current.

[fiest from the window]

when the market over flows i will be there when the taco chip crumbles and buy it all back at half prices. people are turning herit-rage hill houses into condos....this is maddning , GW bUSh will destroy the housing market in 06.

people are drawing too much attention to the housing now. its all over everybody is over extended on there loans with 120% loans and re-fi's intrest only. american is slipping back into slavery. we own nothing. and thats the problem. when ever people are making money the gov't comes in and messes it up. thats why i own avacado farms and futuristic bee polen houses. its a small take on the global economy. GW Bush doesnt mind me selling avacados-he knows i pay my taxes, and those trips to brazil were about the women.

-watch. mr. knowitall knows..

sidenote:

do you think women would get weirded out if this was in my bedroom?

i need a humidifer..

[Rizzo]

Mr. Tilde reincarnate?

[Nitro]

good lord this guy was right, maybe he was from the future...when was this post 2005?????? i bet hes eating avocados in hawaii

[MAU]

Ahahahahah, no not eating avocados in Hawaii. Next time I talk with him I will let him know what a visionary he is.........

[Nitro]

Since they're one in the same, i'm pretty certain he knows...