Real Estate Blog - Grosse Pointe Realtors

Higbie Maxon Agney is Growing

Higbie Maxon Agney Realtors is looking for agents to join our knowledgeable team.

As Grosse Pointe’s premier independently owned real estate company, Higbie Maxon Agney offers an experienced, informative, and personalized approach to buying or selling a home. For over 90 years we have looked out for our agents and their needs - providing training, leads, marketing, support staff, and the latest technology to ensure they succeed. Our culture is team based, with a fantastic atmosphere in a superb location on The Hill in the heart of Grosse Pointe Farms.

If you are an experienced REALTOR® or looking for a new challenge in your sales career as a real estate agent, we would love to hear from you. Higbie Maxon Agney can provide you with the platform and…

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How to Buy a Home in a Sellers Market

According to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors... “Home sales continue to ascend in the first month of the year, as buyers quickly snatched up virtually every new listing coming on the market. Sales easily could have been even 20% higher if there had been more inventory and more choices.” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

So how do you buy a home in a sellers market?

Many articles offer advice on what the seller should do, but in this increasingly aggressive market place it is just as important to focus on what the buyer should do.

If you are planning on buying a home in the near future, it is imperative you have a trusted advisor to guide you through the home buying process. With homes receiving multiple offers…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Old and the New: Sunningdale – Part 2

When you drive up a road in Grosse Pointe, frequently you can't help but stop and look at the houses on display. One day, having been driving around the Pointes, we found ourselves on Sunningdale Drive. Aside from the pristine gardens on display, the diversity of the architecture captured our attention.

While it was obvious some homes are much older than others, it also quickly became apparent the newer houses on the street had been designed to respect their ‘elderly’ neighbors.

Assembling a collection of architectural styles is never easy – arguably homes constructed during the past 30 years do not resemble the homes from a by-gone era – namely the 1920’s and 1930’s. However, there are exceptions, which is evident in the modern constructions on…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Welcome to 7 Woodland Place

Last week we presented the striking Federalist inspired home – 2 Woodland Place – by one of Grosse Pointes most prolific architects Robert O’Derrick.

This week we stay on Woodland Place, and explore another of the streets individualistic homes – 7 Woodland Place.

Originally designed by William Buck Stratton, 7 Woodland Place is arguably one of the more unique homes found in Grosse Pointe. It was completed in 1909 as a summer home of the Hazen S. Pingree family. Hazen S. Pingree was a four-term mayor of Detroit, a successful businessman, and the 24th Governor of the State of Michigan.

Hazen S. Pingree – Courtesy of Wikipedia

Pingree was a cobbler by trade. Having moved to Detroit in 1865 he established a successful shoe making company. By…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Work of Roland C. Gies

Having presented the superb Georgian Cottage Hospital Nurses Residence in Grosse Pointe Farms we now focus on the work of noted Detroit architect Roland C. Gies, which includes another significant building in Grosse Pointe – Bon Secours.

Roland C Gies

Roland C. Gies was born in Detroit, 1874. He was educated at the St. Mary School and the Detroit College. He spent the majority of his career in the city where he was ‘favorably known’, and well respected by his peers. Having graduated with a degree in architecture he gained valuable experience in the office of R.E Roseman, and for a long time afterward was identified with the firms of Albert Kahn, and Donaldson and Meier. Source: The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 4

In 1903 Gies…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Cottage Hospital Nurses’ Residence

Last week we explored several of the sublime houses on Ridge Road, Grosse Pointe Farms. This week, we stay on Ridge Road and visit the Cottage Hospital Nurses Residence – now home to the Services for Older Citizens (SOC).

The building, located at 158 Ridge Road, was originally built for the newly constructed Cottage Hospital as a nurse’s residence. Cottage Hospital (now the Henry Ford Medical Center) was built in 1928 and was designed by the renowned Boston firm of Stevens & Lee.

Cottage Hospital – Courtesy of The Village of Grosse Pointe Shores By Arthur M. Woodford

The nurses’ residence, a separate building from the hospital, was the brainchild of Helen Hall Newberry Joy – daughter of Helen Handy Newberry and John Stoughton Newberry, and…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Sublime Homes On Ridge Road

Having recently explored the early 20th century cottages on St Clair Avenue, this week we focus on the imposing 1920’s constructions on Ridge Road.

Ridge Road, in Grosse Pointe Farms, is one of the communities more distinctive streets, running through the heart of the Farms.

Based on research by the Grosse Pointe Historical Society, we understand, in 1885, most of the land between Ridge and Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Farms, was a heavily wooded swamp that extended several miles north and south. The land near Ridge was also used for farming purposes. The nuns at the Grosse Pointe Academy (known as the Sacred Heart Academy in that era) owned the land from the convent, via Kenwood, all the way to Ridge Road, and used much of it for farming.

Fast…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Welcome to St Clair Avenue – Part 2

Last week we explored several homes on St. Clair Avenue, Part 1 – the early cottages that were constructed at the beginning of the 20th century.

This week we continue our exploration of more homes on the street, along with sharing a brief history of one of Grosse Pointe’s oldest schools.

The homes we have chosen to profile this week continue with the them of the first post – in that they were built between 1900 – 1916, and display characteristics of Colonial, Craftsman and Victorian architectural styles.

However, lets start with one of Grosse Pointe’s oldest schools – located at 389-399 St. Clair Avenue. The Cadieux School – now referred to as the Grosse Pointe Schools Administrative Buildings – was built in 1905-1906, by the renowned…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Welcome to St Clair Avenue – Part 1

There are so many wonderful and interesting streets in Grosse Pointe, we have already shared the stories of several of them – Vendome, Kenwood, Middlesex, Harbor Hill and Bishop to name but a few.

This week we turn our attention to the first block of St Clair Avenue, in Grosse Pointe City. Whilst many of the properties found in Grosse Pointe during this era were ‘turn of the century’ summer cottages’ located on the lake, the homes on St Clair were created to be year round residences.

As you journey up St Clair, from Jefferson, you will notice the design of many of these homes are unique to this road. The majority were constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, and a number of the residences were created as workers cottages. Very few…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Work of Harold Beckett and William Akitt

Having recently focused on the modernist work of Alexander Girard we turn our attention to the more traditional styling’s from the firm of Harold C. Beckett and William R. Akitt.

The firm of Beckitt and Akitt practiced in Detroit from 1920 until 1934. The firm primarily specialized in designing large residences in Michigan, including Metro Detroit, and at least six homes in Grosse Pointe.

Harold Beckett was born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1890. Having moved to Toronto in 1910 he worked as an assistant at the architectural firm of Wickson and Gregg. In 1912 Beckett moved to New York City to study architecture at Columbia University, graduating in 1915. After serving in Europe with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces during WW1 Beckett relocated to…

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