Last spring, I wrote about the beautiful plans for the "Hotel Janelle" Condominium Hotel project set to begin construction in Harbor Springs. To date, there has been no construction. In fact, the only thing that has occurred is the destruction of the former inn that sat on the site, followed by a lawsuit over the hotel's height blocking resident's views of Little Traverse bay, and now foreclosure proceedings! It is of course sad to see, especially when our small community has already seen a similar multi-million dollar project bust in Petoskey. Below you'll find the full article that was published in the Petoskey News Review on March 18, 2010 (copy & pasted for your ease:)  You can also read it here: http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/article_20d96d06-3298-11df-9d8a-001cc4c002e0.html Hote... 03/18/2010

The Cottage Company of Harbor Springs has begun the Hotel Janelle development project. Construction is said to begin sometime in 2009. The goal is to be one of the Midwest’s finest condominium hotels, and will be located in downtown Harbor Springs. Upon completion, the property will have 18 large luxurious suites, an indoor pool and spa, rooftop cocktail deck with views of beautiful lake Michigan, an exercise club, croquet lawn, and many more features and accommodations for guests. Suites will feature floor plans with one, two, or three fully furnished bedrooms. Other features may include hardwood floors, fireplaces, nine to ten foot ceilings, custom cabinetry, granite counters, wireless internet, flat screen televisions, room safes, steam showers, and private label items created exclus... 04/05/2009

We recently spent a week in Chandler, Arizona for the Vacation Rental Managers Association conference.   Below is a press release of some of the highlights.  Holiday Vacation Rentals is one of the companies I work for- a member of VRMA. ------------------------------- Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASELOCAL BUSINESS LEADER ELECTED TO VRMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT ANNUAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCEChandler, AZ ---Alan Hammond, Managing Partner of Holiday Vacation Rentals, Harbor Springs, Michigan has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) at its annual conference and business meeting. VRMA is an international trade association that provides professional educational development, programs and resources dedicated to the professional management of ... 11/21/2008

Harbor Springs real estate market activity continued to slide in 2007, with unit sales and total dollar volume of single family residential transactions posting lows not seen since at least prior to 2001, the last year for which sales statistics are available through the Northern Michigan Multiple Listing Service's computerized database.There were 118 sales of Harbor Springs homes and Harbor Springs condominiums in 2007, defined as sales of properties located within the Harbor Springs School District.  The total dollar volume of those sales was $50,296,695.  This compares with 147 sales last year, and a total dollar volume of $64,669,046.  Unit sales volume was off almost 20% from 2006 to 2007, while total dollar volume was off almost 23%.  The total dollar volume of sales was the lowes... 01/14/2008

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) is holding its annual meeting in Las Vegas this week.  One of the topics of discussion is marketing the concept of exclusive buyer agency.   The topic of agency is confusing, even to many real estate agents.  How can exclusive buyer agents differentiate themselves from traditional buyer agents who also list properties and represent sellers.I like the following concise explanation: "Exclusive Buyer Agents are not salespeople. Exclusive buyer agents are buyer consultants, counselors and advocates."Here is one of the more humorous explanations: "Listless, one-sided and proud of it."If you are looking for a real estate agent who will represent your interests exclusively in connection with your purchase of a Northern Michigan home or... 11/13/2007

Residential Sold Information for March,  2007     2006                               2007Number of Sales     87                                   78Average Selling Price$276,566                     $208,254Median Selling Price$162,000                     $127,350Units on Market   1987                               2173                  ____________________________________________________________________________# of sales              Avg Price  Median PriceAntrim County                     4$103,725          $91,000Charlevoix County                               25 $130,410        $105,000Emmet County                               36$311,004        $185,887Cheboygan                                 4$175,687        $147,625All other counties                                 9$  74,422    ... 04/14/2007

The readers of Ski Magazine have voted Nub's Nob Ski Resort of Harbor Springs as the number one terrain park and number four for snow grooming on the entire North American continent!Nub's Nob is the only Midwestern ski resort to ever capture North American "Gold Medals" from Ski Magazine, and was previously voted into the top ten in all of the United States and Canada for snow and value.  According to Scott Stillings, Nub's Nob's head of guest services, "All we think about is snow, snow, snow, running the best ski and snowboard resort of our size possible and making our customers number one."              According to the readers of Ski Magazine, "Nub's" has been doing a great job of pleasing its customers.  Northwest Lower Michigan boasts some of the best skiing and Snowboarding in the... 11/25/2006

Residential sales statistics for the third quarter of 2006 in the Harbor Springs School District indicate that we may have reached a bottom in the market, at least for the time being.  There were 49 residential sales in the third quarter of 2006, compared with 46 sales in the third quarter of 2005.  Despite the increase in unit volume, dollar volume still continued to fall, from $20,174,056 in the third quarter of 2005 to $15,454,150 in the third quarter of 2006, a drop of over 23%.The numbers for the recent quarter are significantly lower than the record numbers posted in the third quarter of 2004, which saw 67 unit sales and total dollar volume of $23,074,162.  Have we turned a corner?  Let's hope so.  Only time will tell. 10/22/2006