Birmingham Michigan Real Estate
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Birmingham Michigan Homes
Real estate in Birmingham MI is considered high end with classic architectural styles in upwards of 8 million dollars. Birmingham and luxury go hand in hand in the metro detroit area. Currently there are over 80 luxury homes in Birmingham with asking prices over 1 million dollars!. You can't mention Birmingham without talking about its vibrant downtown. The school district is known to be one of the best in the country.
The City of Birmingham has a lively, pedestrian friendly downtown offering one of the Midwest's elite shopping districts. Although measuring only 4 1/2 square miles, the downtown offers a diverse assortment of fine shops, restaurants, art galleries, antique dealers, and clothiers. Birmingham's lively downtown has more than 300 retailers and more than 600 non-retailers.
Population
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,291 people, 9,131 households and 5,076 families residing in the city of Birmingham. It is a fairly young community, with 35 percent of the residents are between the ages of 25 and 44, and 26 percent between 45 and 64. Twenty-one percent are under age 18.
Average Residential Sales Price & Property Taxes in 2007
Average Birmingham home price: $426,474
Median Family Income: $110,627
Depending on what school district you reside in, the following tax rates apply:
Birmingham School District: $42.97 per $1,000 taxable value
Pontiac City School District: $32.50 per $1,000 taxable value
With that being said a $496,000 house would have a taxable value of $248,000 and annual property taxes of $10,656
Prevalent Architecture
Styles of Birmingham homes vary from Victorian to Modern, and sizes range from 700 square feet starter homes to castles that boast more than 5,000 square feet and on narrow 50' wide lots. Land is so expensive, the houses in Birmingham are usually built tall and narrow or one must buy two houses to get a 100' lot. Many of the small, older homes are being renovated and expanded or just torn down to build a luxury style home. There's little, if any, vacant land in Birmingham, so it is very common for a buyer to buy a small ranch or bungalow and tear it down to build a much bigger home. The past couple years there have been increased foreclosures in Birmingham. Investors are starting to buy distressed bank owned homes for very reasonable prices as more homeowners go through the foreclosure process. Birmingham real estate is not selling at the premium price it did just a few years ago.
Schools
The Birmingham School District is as good as they come in the Michigan public schoool system. Education is highly valued, and a tradition of achievement and academic excellence has resulted in some of the finest schools in the country. Students routinely demonstrate educational proficiency with high scores on national and state achievement and aptitude tests. Math and reading for the Birmingham district run about 18% above state averages. The dropout rate in 2001 was 1.2 percent. More than 98 percent of students graduate from high school.
30 percent of the population 25 or older holding a graduate degree, and 38 percent holding a bachelor's degree. Fifty-one percent of the jobs held in Birmingham (2000) are in the service sector, followed by finance/insurance/real estate (19 percent) and retail trade (17 percent).
A number of renowned private, parochial and independent schools with outstanding reputations also serve Birmingham students, among them the Roeper Schools, Eton Academy, Holy Name, Our Shepherd Lutheran, Gateway Montessori, and nearby Cranbrook Educational Community, Detroit Country Day School, and the Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Shopping & Recreation
Birmingham's thriving pedestrian-friendly downtown includes restaurants, movie theaters, art and antique galleries and retailers, and also is a center for real estate, accounting, finance, insurance, legal, and other services.The Birmingham Principal Shopping District, established in 1993, provides leadership in marketing, advertising and promotion of the downtown.
There is never a dull moment in Birmingham. Residents walk, jog, bike, skate, or play street hockey or soccer on their neighborhood streets. Twenty-two parks with 300 acres cover more than 10 percent of the city's total acreage, and the school district also provides recreational facilities. Residents can swim, play baseball, softball and tennis, and enjoy playgrounds and picnic facilities. Two nine-hole municipal golf courses offer golf and golf lessons. The Birmingham Tennis Bubble features indoor courts and a clubhouse and a 32-week season.
Those who enjoy winter sports can sled, toboggan and cross country ski at Birmingham's municipal golf course, Lincoln Hills. Indoor ice-skating is available at the Birmingham Ice Sports Arena, including open skating, lessons and ice hockey groups.
Brief History
An unfavorable report to Washington by Edward Tiffin, deterred the purchase of land and delayed the settlement of the area now known as Birmingham. In 1818, General Lewis Cass led a group of men along the Indian Trail. The Governor's party discovered that the swamp was not as extensive as Tiffin had supposed. It all came together when four men purchased the first parcels totaling 640 acres of land. The first purchase was made by Elijah Willits of Detroit who made a down payment of $80.00 for 160 acres. John Hamilton, John West Hunter, and Benjamin Pierce were soon to follow with purchases. John Hunter was first to build to become a permanent resident in winter of 1819 building his one bedroom log cabin with his brother Daniel. Later in 1822 he built a second house; it is still standing and is the oldest house in Birmingham.
Sawmills, foundries, tanneries, blacksmith shops, broom and brick making factories were just some of the businesses that were quickly represented the community. The name Birmingham was first applied to the community in 1832. There was every indication then to the settlers that the little town would continue to grow into a thriving industrial center; accordingly, they felt it appropriate to name their town after Birmingham, England, which was even then a major manufacturing metropolis. Credit for the suggestion of Birmingham as a name has long been given to Roswell T. Merrill. Legend has it that he put Birmingham on a sign over his foundry the day after an inconclusive meeting of the community to decide on a name.
All hopes of a major industrial center were dashed in 1854 when a large fire wiped out the foundry and several adjacent small factories. They were never rebuilt. On June 18, 1896 four new cars of the Oakland Railway, the electric interurban, came to the town for the first time. They provided fast, and often thrilling, service to Detroit in forty minutes for fifteen cents, one way. This closer link with Detroit signified the beginning of Birminghams change from a nineteenth century agricultural community to a suburban community.
By the late 1890's the local residents began to see improvements that made Birmingham a very envious place to live. Dentists, Doctors, Lawyers among other professionals started to set up shop. In a ten year span from 1920 to 1930 the population had more than doubled. This led Birmingham to become a city in 1933.
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