View Larger MapYou may think that Ann Arbor is the only area we serve – well, that is not true!

There is a great community which is just outside of Ann Arbor that has so much going for it!

The community is Ypsilani, Michigan. This idyllic city is connected to Ann Arbor by a network of highways, byways and development!

Ypsilanti is located where an old Indian trail crossed the Huron River and is also the camping and burial ground for several native American tribes.The early development of the community was influenced and enhanced by the presence of the river and its abundant water power.  As the years progressed the river industries of the mid to late 19th century yielded to manufacturing and the mills gave way to auto related commerce, which became a major economic force in the community.

As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. Despite its rich history and historic buildings (Ypsilanti has the second largest contiguous historic district in the state of Michigan, behind only the much larger city of Grand Rapids) Ypsi is a thriving youthful college town! Ypsilanti is home to Eastern Michigan University, founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School. Today, EMU has 22,000+ undergraduate and more than 4800 graduate students.

This, combined with many other factors has lead to Ypsilanti having developed a thriving arts scene. Overlooking Riverside Park is the non-profit Riverside Arts Center. Established in 1994 through the efforts of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority, Riverside boasts a 115 seat black box theater, a sizeable art gallery and some meeting rooms and offices.

The local economy is robust and the area, along with neighboring Ann Arbor has become something of a top relocation destination.

Ypsilanti’s local real estate market offers a great investment opportunity with homes being at historic low prices buyers are snapping up homes! Now is the time for you to get yourself to Ypsi and get house hunting! (Click here and here to see homes we wrote about in Ypsi!)

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

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2607 Patricia, Ann Arbor Real Estate Jewell 

MOVE RIGHT IN TO THIS LOVELY WEST SIDE ANN ARBOR REAL ESTATE HOME! ALL THE WORK HAS BEEN DONE. LIGHT FILLED, ON QUIET COURT. WELCOMING LIVING ROOM WITH GLEAMING HARDWOOD FLOORS, W/B FIRPLACE AND SEPERATE ENTRY. OPEN KITCHEN WITH LARGE EATING AREA. ENJOY THE THREE SEASON PORCH FOR ADDITIONAL FUNCTION AND SPACE. GREAT FENCED YARD WITH PATIO. FRESHLY PAINTED. MINUTES FROM DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR, I94, M14 AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, NOT A SHORT SALE IN ANN ARBOR REAL ESTATE.

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Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, helping others and enjoying the company of family and friends.

Naturally these days this meaning can get lost with all the looming black friday sales and all of the food and festivities!

Here in Ann Arbor we have the great 5k Fourth Annual Ann Arbor Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot !

This run can be a challenge as it involves hills and inclines as well as the brisk fall weather that graces us here in Michigan! The race starts at 8.30am and 5K runners/walkers must complete the 3.1 miles in 1 hour and 30 minutes as the streets of North Campus will be opened at 9.30. Read more here! Definitely fun for all!

So wherever you are and whoever you are with we at the Kathy Toth Ann Arbor Real Estate Team hope that you are safe and we wish you a very happy thanksgiving!

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

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The economy has taken a battering these last few years, however it appears that things are slowly, but surely on the up!

 Experts are saying “the worst is over” but that recovery will be slow.

Standard & Poor’s chief economist David Wyss told a crowd of 200 – “Panic is being replaced by fear, and that’s healthier” which is encouraging. He expects the nation’s jobless rate to peak at 10.6% or 10.7% in mid-2010 before receding, but said Michigan’s unemployment rate, currently 15.1%, may be stuck between 15% and 16% until 2011.

However, Greg Main, president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. expects the recovery to be a little quicker and estimates that the jobless rate will start to shrink next year owing to the state adding jobs in business services and manufacturing in recent months – helped along of course, but stimulus funds.

Even Lawrence Yun, NAR ’s(National Association of Realtors) cheif economist was in town not so long ago and had encouraging things to say about the economy in the region!
Here in Ann Arbor, University of Michigan research economists said that U.S. growth will remain modest through 2011. The nation’s gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, will decline 2.5% this year but grow 2.3% in 2010 and 2.6% in 2011. The payroll jobs count finally should increase by 2.1 million in 2011, the forecast said. Which is very exciting!

Overall, slow and steady growth is a great recovery. This echoes what we reported back in October that the state was right on track. We will watch this story closely and report back with any updates we have.

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

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No Smoking is a familiar sign you see these days in bars, restaurants and many public places as society has realized the dangers of lighting up, however there is a growing trend in condominium projects to make them smoke free.

Just five years ago, no one had even heard of smoke-free condo units, now there are more than 100,000 of them – in Michigan alone!

MISmokeFreeApartment.org, claims that the right to smoke is not protected under law, according to the opinions of the Michigan Attorney General and HUD. A building manager is therefore legally free to restrict or prohibit smoking in his or her building.

In just a few short years the campaign has culminated in over 20,000 units of SF “affordable” or subsidized multi-unit housing in Michigan as well as 28 public housing commissions in Michigan having adopted SF policies. The campaign is pushing for more public awareness of smoke free units.

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

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7867 Fischers Way, Dexter Schools

HURON RIVER FRONTAGE 213 FT AND ACROSS FROM STATE LAND! UNHEARD OF PRIVACY AND PRIME CUL DE SAC LOCATION  IN DEXTER REAL ESTATE. GREAT FOR KAYAKS, CANOES & TUBING, WILDLIFE.LOVELY GREAT ROOM, OPEN TO GRANITE KITCHEN W/WALL OF WINDOWS TO DECKING, SCREENED PORCH TO RIVER AND  STUPENDOUS MASTER RETREAT W/BALCONY, SEPARATE SHOWER, DUAL SINKS.  NEWER CARPET, WINDOWS, FRESHLY PAINTED.  IMMACULATE, OPEN FLOORPLAN, HOME WARRANTY! ONE LOOK AND YOU KNOW YOU WILL NEVER FIND A BETTER LOCATION, JUST WATCH YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE DROP

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As always, we at the Kathy Toth team like to keep you informed with the local situation in Ann Arbor and around the greater Michigan region.

Economist Dana Johnson had this to say about the local economy – “Earlier this month, the Commerce Department reported that real GDP in Michigan declined 1.5 percent in 2008.  With auto sales particularly hard hit by the disruptions in financial markets and the national recession, Michigan inevitably will underperform again in 2009.  In gauging the potential for a turnaround in the Michigan economy, however, nothing is more important than the timing and vigor of the recovery of the national economy. And in that regard, the evidence of stabilization is increasingly widespread.”

To read the full release, please click here to open a PDF containing a current economic brief detailing the complete picture of Michigan at the present time.

The full release contains a boat load of useful information including graphical representation of data. One graph in particular is of interest – entitled “Michigan Residential Building Permits” showing the sharp decline of new permits being issued between 2006 and 2009. With the level of inventory available for purchase at the moment this is to be expected. After all buyers have the best opportunity for decades to purchase the home of their dreams at a great price!

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty

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In Ann Arbor, we are acutely aware of our unemployment rank in the US.

This is an interesting tool to watch the job changes in the US over time. It is a video of sorts from 2004 of job growth and decline in the US. TIP Strategies Inc., an economic consulting firm, has mapped out U.S. job-loss trends using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. You can press the “play” button to watch as green circles (representing job growth) shrink and then blossom into red circles (job loss) over time.

Please take a look and let me know what you think.

Also, you may like to take a look at this:

Ann Arbor & Washtenaw County Michigan Unemployment Statistics: New Google Tool Ideal For Researching Ann Arbor Real Estate!

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Keller Williams Realty

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In January, three Michigan-based start up companies received seed funds from the Michigan Pre-Seed Captial Fund – this is a collaborative effort from Michigan’s 12 SmartZones.  Ann Arbor Spark is the fund administrator.  So far this fund has invested in 30 Michigan companies.  Skip Simms, Michigan Pre-Seed Captial Fund Administrator, said that the rumor businesses are not starting up right now is a myth.  According to Simms, “Innovative businesses with a solid business plan are attracting funding and choosing Michigan to locate and grow.”

The three most recent funding recipients were:

1. SenSound – developer and marketer of software, testing services and integrated testing systems for aerospace, medical device, automotive, consumer appliance, and industrial machinery manufacturers.
2. Creative Byline – a new model for the book publishing industry that brings together authors and publishers.
3. Biotectix – a biomedical device manufacturers partner that develops and implements customized materials to improve the safety, longevity, reliability, biological interaction, and energy-efficiency of such devices.

The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is an equity fund that invests in technology-based companies.  They receive the same return as their third party investor sponsors and use these monies to reinvest and serve as seed money for the continuation of the fund.  To qualify, start-up companies must be a representative of one of the Michigan’s identified competitive technologies and have the sponsorship of its local SmartZone. Companies must also have received grant, angel or venture capital funding greater or equal to funding requested of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund.

This is a great boost for Michigan’s economy!

Click here to search all Ann Arbor area Michigan
homes and condos with pictures and tours – FREE!

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1. Las Vegas
2. Denver
3. Charlotte, N.C.
4. Phoenix/Mesa, Ariz.
5. Portland, Ore.
6. Seattle
7. Orlando, Fla.
8. Washington, D.C.
9. Atlanta
10. Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Fla.

So Las Vegas is the winner!    The West and the South are where people moved last year.

Remember “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”  – Churchill

If you are looking for the latest updates in the Ann Arbor real estate market, just give us a call.

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