Higbie Maxon Agney is pleased to offer its 2019 Grosse Pointe Real Estate Annual Report. Within this report you will find information on average sale prices, sales volume, real estate trends, and much more.

Our goal is to give you an accurate and complete picture of the 2019 Grosse Pointe housing market. All of the graphs were produced internally for Higbie Maxon Agney using MiRealSource multiple listing service. We are confident that these are the best statistics currently available on the Grosse Pointe housing market, and we hope that you will find the contents of this report readable and useful. Over the coming months we will use this information to help our clients make informed, educated real estate decisions. 

2019 was an extremely…

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Last week we featured 16500 E. Jefferson, the former home of Louis Mendelssohn’s youngest daughter, Lydia. The property was razed in 1996, and the land subdivided. 

This week we are going to feature the work of J. Robert F. Swanson. This talented architect was also linked to the Mendelssohn family having designed the home of Gordon Mendelssohn, Lydia’s brother. 

J. Robert F. Swanson was involved in creating at least four homes in Grosse Pointe –

  • 21 Colonial Road, (1929)
  • 677 Middlesex (1937)
  • 280 Vendome Ct (1937)
  • 203 Cloverly – in conjunction with Eliel and Eero Saarinen (1939) 

J. Robert F. Swanson was born in Menominee, Michigan, in 1900. His parents, both of who were natives of Sweden, relocated the family to Grand Rapids, and…

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Last week we introduced you to another lost mansion, the original 1000 Lake Shore, former grand home of Louis Mendelssohn, and his wife Evelyn. 

This week we are going to continue to the story of the Mendelssohn family as we introduce 16500 E. Jefferson, the home of Louis Mendelssohn’s youngest daughter, Lydia, born in 1906. 

In 1929 Ms. Medelssohn married Christian Henry Buhl, II.  That same year the couple purchased the home of Ross W. Judson on Ellair Place, Grosse Pointe Park. Mr. Judson, the founder of Continental Motor Company, had recently moved from Ellair to 15324 Windmill Pointe, named Kasteel Batavia, which was designed by noted architect Wallace Frost. 

The Buhl-Mendellsohn house on Ellair place was set on six acres between…

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Last week we presented 37 Edgemere, a mid-century property, completed, in 1951, by Carl R. Habermas for Mr. and Mrs. M. Rivard Klippel. 

This week we are going to introduce you to another lost mansion, the original 1000 Lake Shore, former grand home of Louis Mendelssohn, and his wife Evelyn.

Louis Mendelssohn was a prominent figure in Detroit. He was born in Kempen, Germany, in 1853. His parents then moved to Detroit, in 1855. Having graduated high school he began working for the architectural firm of Sheldon and Mortimer L. Smith, and later as manufacturing draftsman in the car and locomotive department of the Michigan Central Railroad. Several years later he formed a partnership with Mortimer L. Smith, and together they worked on numerous…

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Happy 2020! 

In our last post we presented 110 Cloverly, completed by Robert O. Derrick, in 1924, for Phelps Newberry, a member of the esteemed Newberry family.

This week we leave behind the grand Tudor homes of the 1920’s and head to a mid-century property, 37 Edgemere, completed, in 1951, by Carl R. Habermas for Mr. and Mrs. M. Rivard Klippel.

Very little is known about Carl R. Habermas or his career. We do know he created several homes in Grosse Pointe from the 1930’s through to the 1960’s, covering a broad architectural spectrum - Tudor, Colonial, Regency, Art Deco, and Mid-Century Modern styles. It also appears, at some point in his career, he was closely associated with noted architect J. H. Steffens. His projects in Grosse Pointe…

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Last week we explored 17845 E. Jefferson (now 25 Fisher Road), the beautifully designed International style home completed, in 1937, by Hugh T. Keyes, for Herbert B. Trix.

This week we head to a property on one of the most distinguished streets in Grosse Pointe Farms, 110 Cloverly. Robert O. Derrick completed the majestic Tudor mansion, in 1924, for Phelps Newberry, a member of the esteemed Newberry family.

The Newberry family owned numerous properties in the Grosse Pointes. Phelps Newberry’s grandfather, prominent local political figure John Stoughton Newberry, resided at “Lake Terrace”, 99 Lake Shore Drive (now demolished). During the latter part of the 19th century John Stoughton Newberry, along with his business partner James H. McMillan,…

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Last week we presented some of the homes that were owned by the well-known DuCharme family, focusing on 365 University in particular. This classically styled brick built Georgian Colonial home was completed, in 1919, for Charles Bagley DuCharme, by the distinguished firm of William B. Stratton, and Dalton V. Snyder.

This week we head to 17845 E. Jefferson (now 25 Fisher Road), the beautifully designed International style home completed, in 1937, by Hugh T. Keyes, for Herbert B. Trix. 

We have discussed, on several occasions, the rich and varied repertoire of Hugh T. Keyes, who was one of the most productive, and talented architects to grace Metro Detroit in the first half of the 20th century. But we have yet to focus, in depth, on one of his…

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Last week we explored two homes on Whittier, number 1005, and number 1305, completed in 1927, designed by Beckett & Akitt, and Rupert W. Koch, respectively. 

This week we are going to introduce you to some of the homes that were owned by the well-known DuCharme family, focusing on 365 University Place in particular. This classically styled brick built Georgian Colonial home was completed, in 1919, for Charles Bagley DuCharme, by the distinguished firm of William B. Stratton, and Dalton V. Snyder. 

The DuCharme’s were a well-known family in Detroit. Charles Bagley DuCharme was born in Detroit, in 1883. His father, Charles A. DuCharme, was a wealthy Detroit hardware dealer, and former president of the Michigan Stove Company. Having graduated, from…

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Last week we introduced you to 750 Whittier, the spectacular residence completed, in 1920, for Detroit Lumber baron, Frederic M. Sibley.

This week we stay on Whittier, and head up the road to investigate two beautiful homes, number 1005, and number 1305. These two residences were completed in the same year, in two very different, yet equally popular, architectural approaches. 

1005 Whittier
Beckett & Akitt designed this beautifully styled Mediterranean home, in 1927, for Frederick W. Dalby. The Mediterranean approach was incredibly popular throughout Grosse Pointe, and the United States, during the 1920’s’, and there are some suburb examples throughout the community. It is a unique style, but also very similar to the Spanish Revival buildings…

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Last week we introduced you to 487 Rivard. Esselstyn and Murphy completed this grand clapboard Colonial property, in 1919, for Bernhard Stroh Jr., former president of the Stroh Brewery Company. 

This week we head to Grosse Pointe Park, and to a classic Tudor Revival estate, 750 Whittier. This spectacular residence was completed, in 1920, for Detroit lumber baron, Frederic M. Sibley. According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, when the house was built it disturbed a rum-running operation that used the shore as a landing spot.

It appears the architect for this property could be the noted designer, Charles Kotting, which is the name listed on our files. Charles Kotting was one of the most prestigious architects in the city of Detroit during…

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