The Annual Grand Rapids Parade of Homes will kick off this weekend.  The Home Builders Assocation of Greater Grand Rapids announced that this year the event will include 57 new homes, six remodeled homes and eight “conceptual” homes in 17 communities.  The event will run from May 24 through June 8.  To view more information on the Grand Rapids Parade of Homes visit:  http://www.mygrhome.com/paradeofhomes/

According to Grand Rapids Association of Realtors, the West Michigan housing market has taken off recently.  Local realtors reported 1,167 pending sales for single family homes last month, which is an 11 percent increase from March of last year.  To read more on West Michigan home sales activity visit:  http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2013/04/homes_sales_started_to_heat_up.html

The Forbes list of 10 Best Cities for Finding Employment was published on Monday, April 22 and Grand Rapids made the list.  Based on Grand Raids’ overall unemployment numbers, which were 6.6 percent, the city ranked fourth on the Forbes list.  To read more on the 10 Best Cities for Finding Employment visit:  http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2013/04/forbes_list_grand_rapids_ranks.html

Tuesday, April 16 Menards home improvement store is opening in Three Rivers.  The mega store will be located at 1001 Warner Drive, west of U.S. 131.  This will become the company’s 23^rd location in Michigan.  To learn more about the grand opening of this Menards location visit:  http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2013/04/menards_home_improvement_store.html#incart_flyout_business

There is a life expectancy for many household appliances and electronics and the more you love your appliances the longer they will last.  Even though appliances will eventually need to be replaced, there are some tips to guarantee your appliances will last longer than expected.  To view these tips visit:  http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/04/09/make-appliances-last-longer/

According to a recent study conducted by Fannie Mae, 41 percent of buyers expect home values to increase over the next twelve months.  Spring is the season that brings out prospective buyers to start looking for a new home.   Here are a few tips for homebuyers this season:  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/soup-nuts-guide-spring-homebuyers-134542235.html

Grand Rapids four major downtown museums will offer free admission on Sunday, April 21 from 12pm to 5pm.  The Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Children’s Museum, the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Gerald R Ford Presidential Museum are the four museums offering this free event.   Amway Corporation is sponsoring the event by supplying volunteers at each museum to help pull off this free event.  To learn more about Museums Free 4 All visit:  http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/04/free_admission_at_four_grand_r.html

According to a recent census data, metro Grand Rapids now consists of a population of over 1 million.  Compared to the population in 2010 of 774,160, Grand Rapids now has the population of 1,005,648 in the metro area.  To learn more about this visit:  http://www.grbj.com/articles/76405-metro-grand-rapids-population-passes-1-million

Congratulations to Prudential Preferred, REALTORS for being voted “THE BEST” Real Estate Company in Montcalm, Newaygo and North Kent County in 2012 by the People’s Choice Awards in the River Valley Shopper!  

Voting results will be published in the River Valley Shopper on March 18th.

Local builders are seeing a significant increase in growth to the housing market in West Michigan.  Due to the growth in building permits, the growth in the last two years is up more than 230 percent in Holland and building permits have nearly doubled over the past five years in the Kalamazoo area.  To learn more on the housing comeback in West Michigan visit:  http://fox17online.com/2013/03/06/housing-market-making-a-comeback-in-west-michigan/#axzz2NF0vrzaC