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Tell Me What's Going On, and I Will Explain What Comes Next
“No pressure, no pitch. Tell me where you are in the process and I will explain exactly how this works and what comes next.”
Muskegon & Ottawa County Market Data
County-by-county numbers, an honest read on what they actually mean for Muskegon and Ottawa County, and the property tax question I make sure every client understands before we ever get to closing. Call or text, and I will walk you through it myself.
The West Michigan Market, County by County
Across the fifteen counties we serve, August closed 1,853 homes at an average of $392,860, averaging 26.4 days on market, with 4,610 listings active, counted September 1, 2026 with sold counts still firming up for about a week. Rather than freeze a copy of those numbers here, I keep the full breakdown in one place at the brokerage so it is always the current month.
Active inventory, sold counts, days on market and average sold price for all fifteen counties, refreshed every month rather than pinned to the week it was published.
See the current market read →Profiles for 358 communities across the footprint: what sold, what is being built, population, income, home values and each municipality's own website.
Open the community profiles →Market Intelligence
The market here is not one single story. Different neighborhoods and price points are moving at different speeds, and the only way to make a good decision is to understand where your specific situation fits into that picture.
I spend a lot of time explaining the same few things to clients: how days on market actually reads, why a home might be sitting even in a busy season, and why property taxes catch so many buyers off guard here in Michigan. Preparation beats guessing every time, whether you are buying your first home or selling the one you have lived in for twenty years.
What I Watch Closely
Homes in Muskegon and Ottawa Counties are moving at different speeds depending on price point and condition, so the first step is understanding where the specific property you want actually sits. Higher rates mean the monthly payment deserves as much attention as the purchase price. I walk through the real numbers with you before you write an offer, not after.
Buyer guidance →Well-priced, well-prepared homes are still selling here. The ones sitting longer are usually priced against last year's market instead of this one. Before we even talk pricing, I walk you through how Michigan's property tax uncapping works for your buyer, because it affects how they see your home and I would rather you understand it now than have it come up as a surprise at the closing table.
Seller guidance →Free Guides
Step-by-step material covering buying, selling, investing, and relocating, written the same way I would explain it to you in person. No pressure, no agenda, free to read.
A full walk-through from our first conversation to closing day: financing, search strategy, offers, and inspections, explained the way I would explain it sitting across the table from you.
Read the buyer's guide →Pricing, preparation, marketing, and negotiation, laid out step by step so you know what is coming before it happens. No surprises between listing and closing.
Read the seller's guide →What the process actually costs, the loan programs available, and the mistakes I see trip up first-time buyers most often in Muskegon and Ottawa Counties.
Read the first-time buyer guide →How to evaluate a rental the right way: cap rate, cash flow, financing structure, and what the numbers need to look like before a deal makes sense.
Read the investor's guide →What to know before moving to Muskegon or Ottawa County: neighborhoods, schools, and how to buy confidently even if you cannot tour every weekend.
Read the relocation guide →Support for homeowners working through a hard situation: foreclosure, divorce, financial hardship, or an estate. Your options, your rights, and your timeline, explained plainly.
Read the Home Protectors guide →First-Time Buyers
Buying your first home starts with an honest look at your numbers. Work through it on your own, talk it through with a Legacy advisor, or come to the free class. No cost, no pressure, and I am glad to answer whatever comes up along the way.
A self-paced workbook with the budgeting, planning, and readiness questions that show you exactly where you stand before we start looking at properties.
Open the workbook →A short call with a Legacy advisor. No pitch, just a direct look at where you are financially and what the next step actually looks like.
Book a readiness call →A free, live class with Legacy and VanDyk Mortgage covering the real numbers: loan programs, down payment requirements, and what the path to a first purchase looks like.
Register for the class →Market & Timing Questions
That depends more on your situation than on the market. Your timeline, your finances, and what you are actually trying to accomplish matter more than any headline. I would rather spend the first conversation asking about your situation than tell you what the market is doing in general. That is where we start.
It depends on where you are looking and what you are looking at. In parts of Muskegon and Ottawa Counties, well-priced homes are still getting multiple offers. In others, homes are sitting longer and buyers have more room to negotiate. There is no single label that covers the whole area, which is exactly why I look at your specific neighborhood and price point instead of repeating a general answer.
Nobody can predict rates with any real accuracy, so I do not recommend building a plan around guessing. What matters is whether the payment works for your budget today. If the numbers make sense now, we move forward, and you can always refinance later if rates come down. I will run the actual math with you first so the decision is based on your situation, not a forecast.
Days on market, how often homes are getting multiple offers versus sitting and needing a price adjustment, and how inventory compares to actual buyer demand in Muskegon and Ottawa Counties specifically. None of those numbers mean much by themselves. I look at how they move together, which is why I track this weekly instead of relying on a single statistic.
Because national coverage averages together markets that have nothing to do with each other. What is happening in Muskegon is not the same as what is happening in Ottawa County, let alone somewhere across the country. I would rather show you the actual local numbers than let a national headline set your expectations.
The county data table is pulled weekly from the MLS. The commentary gets updated as conditions actually change, not on a set schedule. If you want a direct read on your specific situation or neighborhood, call or text me. I answer every call and respond the same day.
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“No pressure, no pitch. Tell me where you are in the process and I will explain exactly how this works and what comes next.”