Grand Rapids is shaking off the ultra-low inventory of 2021-22, but it’s still a seller-leaning market with 1.9 months of supply—balanced is 6. Median days on market sit at 13, so pre-approval is non-negotiable. New-construction hotspots include the Bridge Street Corridor and Belknap Park, where modern row homes start at $315 K and qualify for USDA zero-down financing because the edge of the development map still sits in a designated rural zone. If you’re priced out of East Grand Rapids (median $485 K), look to adjacent Oakdale or Shawmut Hills; prices drop 20 % within a half-mile.

• Average list-to-sale ratio: 98.6 %
• 2024 appreciation forecast: 4.1 % (Realtor.com)
• Hottest sub-$300 K ZIPs: 49507, 49508, 49534

Alger Heights offers 1920s brick bungalows for $225-$260 K, walkable to neighborhood favorites like Marie Catrib’s. East Hills, next to Cherry Street, mixes century homes with new condos; FHA 203(k) renovation loans are common here, and NMHL’s one-close construction program rolls purchase and up to $35 K of upgrades into a single loan. Veterans flock to Walker for the lower millage and proximity to the VA Outpatient Clinic on Bremerton Ave. If top-rated schools are key, Forest Hills (Northview or EGR districts) commands a premium, but our Jumbo-Alternative program keeps rates competitive up to $715 K.

Beyond MSHDA’s $10 K, the city-run Grand Rapids Homebuyer Assistance Fund adds up to $5,000 forgivable after five years. Combine both and you can cover a 3.5 % FHA down payment on a $285 K purchase. Step Forward Michigan still has rescue funds if you experienced pandemic-related hardship; we layer that toward your closing cost shortfall. For moderate-income buyers in target census tracts, FHLBI’s Down-Payment Plus gifts $6 K-$10 K at 0 % interest, forgiven monthly over 10 years. NMHL pairs each grant with the right loan—FHA, VA, USDA, or our 1 % Down Advantage—to keep your out-of-pocket cash under $2,000.

Michigan bills twice: summer (July 1) and winter (December 1). Your taxable value can only rise 5 % or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, as long as you file a Principal Residence Exemption—easy to forget when you move mid-year. If you buy before July 1 you’ll inherit the seller’s summer bill; after July 1 you pay the winter bill and escrow starts fresh next July. Kent County charges 1 % transfer tax, split 50/50 by tradition, so negotiate accordingly. NMHL’s loan estimate breaks these numbers out line-by-line so Grand Rapids borrowers never get blindsided at the closing table.

We’re not a call-center lender—we underwrite in Michigan, fund in Michigan, and our Grand Rapids branch at Campus Martius is staffed by loan officers who live in Creston, Alger, and Ada. That local mindset means we know an escrow holdback for a missing GR&S sidewalk permit and we can approve a VA escape clause that lets you walk away if the property doesn’t appraise. Our average closing time is 23 days versus the 43-day national average, crucial when you’re competing with cash investors in Belknap Lookout. From credit scores in the 500s to million-dollar jumbos on the riverfront, NMHL keeps Grand Rapids moving home.