April 4, 2017
With a vibrant downtown, accessible waterfront on Lake Michigan, and schools within walking distance, who wouldn’t want to live in Downtown Petoskey? Did I mention the sunsets?
“The days of couples buying ten to thirty miles from downtown are going away. People enjoy walking to downtown and walking to schools,” says Pat Leavy, co-owner of Kidd & Leavy Real Estate located at 325 East Lake Street. Pat has 15 realtors working out of his office.
And Downtown Petoskey isn’t only for the young families.
“Retirees are looking for walkability and access to downtown,” notes Bill Winslow, managing broker at Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors at 420 Howard Street with 20 realtors. As a whole, properties within the Petoskey School District are a hot commodity. Winslow takes the market one step further: “Commercially, we’re seeing some expansion and positive growth up East Mitchell Street as well.” According to Roxie Beach, with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services at 228 E. Mitchell Street, “Anything that’s priced correctly in the downtown market sells immediately.” Berkshire Hathaway has 12 realtors within their office walls.
As we explore Downtown Petoskey through this portal, it makes sense to consider what it’s like to live here. I don’t own a car, by choice, and can find everything I need in a one square mile area including groceries, gifts, wine, art, music, a gym, pubs, fine dining, casual dining, a post office, newspaper office, library, clothing stores, shoes, hardware, you name it, oh, and great pizza. My physician is even a short walk from home.
“The market is the strongest it’s been in the last five years,” Leavy suggests. And he has the history. “We opened this office in 2004. ”
Being a part of a resort/vacation community has its advantages as a business. The same people arrive year after year, with generations of families coming since the 1800’s, and of course, our friends and hosts, the Odawa Tribe, have been here for thousands of years.
Three realtors are so confident in the local market that they’ve purchased their business from a retiring owner. Mac McCarthy, Danielle Smith, and Pete Platte have acquired Gaslight Group Properties and its subsidiary, Vacation Properties of Northern Michigan.
Mac McCarthy says proudly: “We are going to expand and accentuate our service, along with our promise, to prospective clients by assisting them in accomplishing their objectives”. The 9 realtors of Gaslight Group Properties can be found at 215 Howard Street.
All of these offices are within the sidewalks of Downtown Petoskey and offer each visitor the chance to make Petoskey a permanent home. And if your car breaks down, your refrigerator suddenly turns warm, and the oven won’t light, don’t worry, Downtown Petoskey has you covered.
Comments are closed.