March 2024 Home Sales

Records delays leave a sparse map: At press time, the state’s database showed no March home sales in Pittsfield, Ann Arbor, or Superior townships; Scio Twp. reported sales for only half the month. The township assessors all explained that they paused entering transfers while a software change updated the new fiscal year’s tax rates. The City of Ann Arbor’s records appear to be complete, and those sales are on the map. Calls and emails to city assessor Jerry Markey went unreturned at press time, so we don’t know why the city handled things differently. We’ll include the missed townships’ sales next month.

Riverfront bargain: Before closing on the $300,000 purchase of a two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,242-square-foot condo in Riverside Park Place, the buyer reached out to Realtor (and Home Sales Map consultant) Sue Maguire to ask if he was missing something. Maguire said no, that’s not an aberrant price for the sixty-unit high-rise built in 1966 at 1050 Wall St.—an 1,182-square-foot unit on the same floor went for $280,000 in 2022. Maguire wonders if the homeowners’ association buy-in fee may keep prices down despite the desirable location—it’s currently about $5,000, and nonrefundable.

Church closes on long-coveted home across the street: Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church bought the 3,069-square-foot, four-bedroom home at 1520 Traver St. for $650,000. It’s directly across from the church on John A. Woods Dr., and the closing marks a triumphant conclusion of a $280,000 capital campaign. In a video on the church’s website, pastor Mashod Evans Sr. says the funds will go to the down payment “as well as for necessary renovations.”

This Old House of the Month: Built in 1915 and boasting 3,426 square feet, 2 Geddes Heights Dr. sold for $811,500. The four-bedroom, three-bath Arts and Crafts–style abode was the longtime home of Walter and Nesta Spink. Walter—a U-M art historian described as “compassionate, creative, and quirky” in a memorial by former Observer contributor Bonnie Brereton—died in 2019, and Nesta in 2020. According to the listing, the house still has “many original appointments, including Pewabic tile, light fixtures on the front porch and in the entry, fabulous trim work, plaster and hardwood floors.”