Local Realtor Says It's A Great Time to Sell

Home values have gone up in most Novi neighborhoods this year, according to the City of Novi Assessing Department.

Local real estate agents are seeing the same trend, including Jeff Amburgy, Realtor with Real Estate One who covers the Novi area. He said home prices have been climbing quickly and at a steady pace since the holiday season around October and November.

People are ready to buy houses again this year, Amburgy said, and there are multiple offers on properly priced properties.

"With the inventory so limited, there are very little houses to choose from. So the best houses have a lot of people fighting for them," he said.

The city released information on home values in its recent e-newsletter. The newsletter states that values continued to recover for residential properties last year, resulting in an increase for most homes in the 2013 assessments.

Novi residential property values were supposed to go up 4 percent on average based on Oakland County's equalization studies from data collected Oct. 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2012, said Novi's City Assessor Glenn Lemmon.

Lemmon completed an allocation of that information plus data through Dec. 31, 2012, by studying 240 Novi neighborhoods to determine how much to adjust the year's home value assessment roll, he said.

"Fifteen percent to 20 percent of those neighborhoods went up," he said about their values.

Based on last year's assessment roll, Lemmon said one third of the 240 neighborhoods increased their home values.

"More neighborhoods went down last year than this year because the economy is getting better," he said.

How much did homes sell for in Novi?

Based on listings according to AOL Real Estate in Patch's monthly Sold! features in 2012, homes in Novi sold for:

• 45191 Bartlett Drive: 
• 27501 Albert St.:
• 24966 Portsmouth Ave.:
• 31110 Centennial Drive:
• 25554 Keenan Court:
• 22573 Bertram Drive:
• 21580 Trent Court:
• 45437 Irvine Drive:
• 21449 Dundee Drive:

In its e-newsletter, the City listed some reasons for home value increases like Novi's easily accessible location and its quality schools. 

Amburgy said it's difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for the increase in home values.

"But it’s a great time to sell your house," he said.

Has the value of your home gone up in the past year? Check zillow.com to see home prices in your neighborhood.