Livonia Michigan has become a very popular place for first time homebuyers, downsizers and really anyone looking to get a semi-affordable home in a market like the one we are in. So with that being said, I want to show you how far you can stretch your dollar in the wonderful city of Livonia. Let’s get to it.
Transcription:
Andrew:
Before I jump into creating some visuals for some homes that you can get in Livonia, I want to briefly talk about the home prices, and the best way to do it is to take a look at some data. Taking a look at this graph provided by the MLS it shows the average sale price over the last 3 years in Livonia (in green) and the entire MLS as a whole (in blue). As you can see, Livonia floats a little under the average, whereas the MLS as whole sits at just over $288,000 which was a 2.7% increase year over year, whereas Livonia sits at just over $279,000, which was a 3.5% increase year over year. I am going to show you 5 homes in 5 different price points, just so you can get a sense of the affordability in Livonia Michigan.
HOME #1 - $105,000
Kicking this list off with home#1, we have a condo south of Plymouth Rd and right along Middlebelt road. This $105,000, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom home with 986 square feet, was built in 1954, and spent 9 days on the market before going pending. The HOA fee is $210 a month and allows pets as well, which is a nice touch, because most don’t. Taking a look at some of the images, there’s a nice divider between units, the grass is well taken care of and there’s sidewalks to each unit. I noticed the condo buildings face each other, so in a sense it creates some community between owners. There’s a little covered porch that fits one chair, and we step through the front door and see the living area, which fits a decently sized L-shaped couch, and extra loveseat and a tv of course. Sliding over to the dining room, we have a 4 seater tabled, and some storage behind it. The kitchen has a fair amount of counter space, Moving into the bathroom there’s a single vanity, toilet and shower. Stepping into the bedroom, there’s a twin size mattress against the wall which of course gives enough space for all the extracurricular activities with that massive dollhouse. Bedroom #2 has a queen or king sized bed that takes up a good amount of space but the door still shuts so that’s good, along with a double closet. Then bedroom #3 has two separate beds, and a good amount of storage. This is a 2 bedroom unit, so they are making a makeshift bedroom that works, and the basement also has a bedroom set up, so it’s safe to say these folks are probably going to be doing some upsizing, but it’s cool to see how many people you can pile into this place. An office in the utility room along with some storage, and the parking lot to finish it off. This is definitely a cost effective way to live. Think about being a first time home buyer who buys a cheap place like this and piles in 3-4 friends like this as an investment. What an opportunity.
HOME #2 - $170,000
Moving over to home #2 on the list, we have an upper condo located south of Plymouth road and north of Ann Arbor trail. This $170,000 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with 1,123 square feet, and built in 1972 with an HOA fee of $303 a month has some common areas that include an inground pool. Taking a look at some of the images, the exterior isn’t anything too magical, but it’s nice to see the tenants have a pretty sizable private balcony space. Stepping inside, to a pretty cool open floor plan, we have the living room with all the furniture and tv, that seamlessly transitions into the kitchen, with a dining table and stools in the middle that could be used as an island and additional counter space if needed. The kitchen is fairly updated, white cabinetry, butcher block countertops from the looks of it. Going down the hallway we have the primary bedroom, with a queen sized bed I'd say, side tables, and a walk-in closet that steps into a very large bathroom with a ton of counter space. The next bathroom, and the next bedroom with a large window, and two closet spaces. It’s safe to say this complex values their storage, which is always nice. A laundry room, and a nice walk out to the balcony that has a great private view., then a couple of shots of the pool as well. This is another cost effective method, but I’m curious for everyone out there, would you say this is $65,000 more than the first one? Drop your thoughts below.
HOME #3 $250,000
Now tackling home #3 on the list. This single family home is located north of 6 mile road and south of seven mile rd. This $250,000 home has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, with 1,324 square feet, and built in 1948, situated on 0.28 acres with a 2.5 car garage. Stepping into the images we have a nice covered porch that steps into a nice little family room, I know these homes are staged for pictures, but good lord, it makes you want to do some cleaning. Then we have a little two seater dining table, that has a kitchen off to the side, which feels like a restaurant set up in a weird but okay way, with a bedroom right off the kitchen, which is something different, with a nicely remodeled bathroom attached to it, nothing like a entry level primary bedroom, very popular these days. Off to the other side is a laundry room, and moving through the home, we step to the back end, that has a larger dining space for bigger gatherings, a brick accent wall that must’ve had a wood burner at some point. A step into another full bathroom with a large skylight for a lot of natural light. Another room with a little futon, closet and dresser, then another room with a few instruments in it. I’d have to say from the pieces of furniture left behind they moved out and left the bare minimum for staging, so we can scratch my cleanliness comment earlier. Then we step outside, see the large driveway that goes out to the detached garage, fenced in yard, along with a little back deck section. A sizable yard and a pergola positioned next to the garage on a paver patio. That’s a nice yard for entertaining to say the least. If you’re leaning a little closer to the suburbia lifestyle, this home has that and then some.
HOME #4 - $400,000
Shifting gears to home #4 on the list. I wanted to show you something a little newer, just to give you a sense of affordability in a new construction area. This home is located off Merrimen rd, south of Plymouth road. This $400,000 new construction home has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, with around 1450 square feet, situated on .47 acres with a 2 car attached garage. Looking at the images, we have this very common looking exterior for new construction with the dark blue-ish siding and a lighter brick or stone a few feet up. Jumping inside we have the trendy white kitchen with light countertops and a mild looking wood flooring. The floor plan is fairly open from the dining, kitchen and living room. A full bathroom, primary bedroom off the living room with an attached bathroom and I walk-in closet I could assume. Then the hallway and another bedroom with a lot of natural light, another bedroom, then the laundry room, and back to the main living space. A few more images of the primary bed, then more of the main living areas, these pictures are a little out of whack but that’s okay. Then we step out back to a large private yard with vinyl fencing all around. This is what a typical mid-priced new construction home looks like, and I’m curious what everyone’s thoughts are about the white, and neutral colors? Some people like a home with more character while others like this blank canvas they can get crafty with, what type are you? Comment below.
HOME #5 - $539,000
Last but not least we have home #5 on the list. Located north of seven mile rd and south of eight mile road near bicentennial park, this home sold for $2,000 above asking price coming in at $539,000. This 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with 2,803 square feet situated on .27 acres with a 2.5 car garage has an HOA fee of $100 annually and was built in 1989. These photos we are about to look at aren’t the prettiest so I hope it at least shows you this home’s potential. Taking a look at the images here we have some great curb appeal, a home of many windows, a large garage and some nicely done landscaping. Then we jump to the backyard brick paver patio with a nice seating arrangement surrounded by a picket fence. A few more images around the exterior, then we jump inside and see the kitchen, 4 table dining room table, and a very spacious living room with a natural fireplace. Then we have this little nook, study, lounging space off to the side, a well kept laundry room, some additional storage, may even be the pantry, a formal dining area, with natural light, a family room near the front door and stairs, first floor half bathroom, office with double doors, and two closets near the font door which is a nice touch, a lot of new homes put the coat closet in another room, so this is convenient.
A nice entry staircase up to a full bathroom with a double vanity, and looking at this image, I figured it would be a good time to put out a public service announcement since this person is clearly standing in the bathtub, if you are a Realtor watching or someone looking to sell their home at some point, please make sure they do professional photos, this home naturally could turn heads with its character, but with these images, not so much. Jumping to a bedroom that utilized a wide angle lens on a flip phone and made the wall look crooked, okay okay I’m done poking the bear. The next room is the primary, that has an empty bed frame, then the primary bathroom that I am really hoping isn't that warped, holy smokes, then we have a walk in closet, another bedroom with great natural light, bedroom #4 is pinked out but sizable, then I'll click through these close up shots and jump to the finished basement that was most definitely used as a place for business. The layout is cool having a waiting room on one side almost and the meeting spot on the other side, then a ton of storage space that is more put together than most of our basements i’d bet. Pictures aside, I wanted to use this recently sold home to show you what some additional square footage would cost in a city like Livonia, because most of the other homes were much smaller, as you can see this home is fairly outdated, but in a good location for someone to put value throughout it and come out on top in the resale value department, which is very important in today’s housing market.
I truly hoped this video showing 5 homes in 5 price points gave you a good idea of the affordability in Livonia Michigan. For those of you that made it this far, what do you think of Livonia? Drop your thoughts below! If you need any help buying, selling or investing in the great state of Michigan, my contact information is in the description, so don’t hesitate to reach out!
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew McManamon is a Michigan REALTOR® with Signature Sotheby’s International Realty and provides real estate services to Buyers, Sellers and Investors throughout SE Michigan including Livingston County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County, Genesee County & beyond. Andrew has become one of the rising stars of Michigan real estate agents. Prior to his real estate career Andrew was responsible for managing a senior living facility in Brighton, Michigan as a dining supervisor and an activities assistant. Andrew’s passion to help people is unlike any other, and he continues to strive to be best resource he can be. Andrew graduated from Cleary University in Howell, Michigan with a double major and currently resides in Brighton, Michigan.