HOUSING Housing across Greater Grand Rapids continues to present challenges, with constrained inventory and new supply not keeping pace with demand. The single-family home market saw an uptick in activity, with 1,807 homes sold in Q1 2025 compared to 1,658 the year prior. Median listing prices also rose to $338,000, up from $327,000 in Q1 2024. Though prices dipped briefly in late 2024, they rebounded at the beginning of 2025. There are signs the market may be cooling slightly. Homes are staying on the market longer—averaging 42 days compared to 34 days a year ago—and the number of active listings per quarter jumped significantly from 665 to 1,116, providing some relief for buyers navigating a still-competitive environment. In the multifamily sector, rent prices climbed from $1,408 to $1,466 per month, indicating sustained demand. However, vacancy rates rose from 4.5% to 5.6% over the same period, suggesting that supply is beginning to catch up. Multifamily construction activity slowed, with 1,185 units under construction in Q1 2025—down from 2,634 units a year earlier—though numerous developments remain underway. Despite supply-side challenges, nearly 4,000 residential building permits* were issued across Greater Grand Rapids and surrounding communities in 2024, a 4.4% increase from the previous year. This includes a 3% rise in single-family permits and a 6% increase for multifamily units, signaling forward momentum in expanding the region’s housing stock to meet growing demand.
PERMITTED UNITS BY TYPE
Single Family
2-Unit
3 & 4 Units
5+ Units
4,500
4,000
3,500
3,000
NOTABLE PROJECT
2,500
111 Lyon Type: Residential Developer: CWD Real Estate Investment (Architect: Integrated Architecture)
General Contractor: Orion Construction Investment: $50M Footprint: 95,025 sf building (140 units) Address: 111 Lyon St. NW, Grand Rapids Timeline: Completion Summer 2026 Status: In Progress
Description: The conversion project broke ground in March 2025. The majority of the building will be converted to residential with 20 units per floor.
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2020 2019
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Nearly 4,000 building permits were issued in Greater Grand Rapids and surrounding areas* in 2024, a 4.4% increase from the previous year. Permits for single family housing and multi-family housing units grew 3% and 6%, respectively. Permits for multifamily housing with five or more units increased 20% from 2023 to 2024. There were 519 building permits issued during the first two months of 2025, slightly lower than the 546 units during the same period the previous year.
*Building permit geography is for the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Muskegon combined statistical area which includes Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, Allegan, Barry, Ionia and Montcalm counties.
15 STATE OF DEVELOPMENT – DIVING DEEPER
STATE OF DEVELOPMENT – DIVING DEEPER 16
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