Movement of Macomb's top homes

A few years ago, I remember reading an article in the Chicago Tribune where Mary Umberger, a business reporter, interviewed a bunch of real estate agents scattered throughout Chicago and its suburbs. Umberger's purpose: Get a pulse on what was happening with real estate in different corners of Chicagoland. The story idea was a good one. And Umberger did an excellent job of finding credible sources in a lot of different communities and writing about them in an intelligent way.

But what I remember about Umberger's findings is how silly they seemed when applied to the Macomb market. One Chicagoland agent had a quote where she lamented that real estate had really slowed down in her neighborhood. Why, just the year before, most houses in this agent's neighborhood had taken two weeks to sell. Now -- sigh -- they took four! (My tears for her formed a dangerous flash flood that swept away from my desk, out into the hallway, and down the stairs to the first floor of our office building, carrying away any victims caught in the path.)

I invite this agent to come to Macomb, where a house typically sits on the market for about six months before selling. And if you're really lucky, you can have a listing last much longer than that. I'm talking years, not weeks or months.

Nowhere is this more evident than with Macomb's top-crust listings -- the sort that are priced over $250,000. Earlier this month, a house at 1349 Woodland Trail sold for $360,000.

The house was originally listed for $429,000, so the buyers got a great deal. But here's the more important info: April 17, 2004. That's the day the house went on the market. Over three years ago.

Other high-end houses are also showing some movement. 1915 W. Adams, listed for $478,000, currently has an accepted offer and is scheduled to close in a few weeks.

In contrast to 1349 Woodland Trail, 1915 W. Adams seems like it's only been on the market for an instant -- even though it was listed over a year ago (April 11, 2006).

1206 Stacey Lane, listed for $289,900, is also under contract and scheduled to close in July. It's been for sale since December 13 of last year.


No takers yet on the most expensive house for sale in Macomb, however -- 14550 N Highway 67 is still on the market, currently at $699,000. It's only been listed since March 1 of this year.

But because it just had a $25,000 price reduction, the place might as well qualify as a genuine fire-sale bargain now.

New grocery store for Macomb?

Ever since Thompson Food Basket at 1600 W. Jackson, Macomb, closed in the late 1990s, this large commercial building has been sitting empty:


Macomb's west-side residents have been without a grocery store ever since. There was always talk that construction of some nearby apartment complexes would prove a tipping point for a grocery store to return to the building, but that never quite happened. Instead, a group called The Crossing bought the property for $755,000 in December 2006 and announced something completely unexpected: They plan to turn the place into a church. The first service is scheduled for later this fall.

Hopes for a grocery store in this part of town haven't died, however. A few weeks ago, this building across the street -- at 1601 W. Jackson -- sold for $565,000:


The seller, Brenner Furniture Company, had been a longtime fixture in Macomb. Now it's out of business. The new owner, S & W Real Estate Management, is currently looking for tenants. Will one of them be a grocery store? We'll probably know later this year.