AGENT INSIGHTS: JENNIFER MCBRIDE

JENNIFER MCBRIDE

CENTURY 21 Curran & Oberski Northville, Michigan

Where are you located?

My CENTURY 21® office is based in Northville, and I do the majority of my business in and around Northville and the surrounding areas, which is mostly metro Detroit. I grew up here in Northville. I moved away for quite some time—did the big-city living—then I came back with my family. It’s definitely a place that you want to come back to if you leave.

How would you describe the area? What are the things that would attract people to live there?

The major thing is that it offers so many beautiful neighborhoods. The homes are beautiful, and range from historic to brand-new construction. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone. There’s a great downtown, and great restaurants. It’s not commercialized, so you’re not going to get chain restaurants and chain shops. It’s very boutiquey, with cute shops and restaurants. There are quite a few historic buildings and homes, particularly in downtown, which gives it a real community feel.

It’s very family-oriented here. I think it is because of the things that we put on for families, like events, festivals, carnivals—a lot of things for the community. If you live here, you can just go right down the street, grab dinner and hit one of these festivals, and it’s a great weekend. You feel like you’ve gotten out, yet you didn’t have to drive far and there’s just so much to do.

What property trends are you seeing in Northville at the moment?

As far as properties, it’s one of the most desirable areas to live—people are always going to want to live here. The school districts are first-rate. The value of homes stay up; if anything, we are one of the areas with the highest increases in values, so that makes Northville pretty unique. It’s not overpopulated, either, which makes it desirable. As far as prices, the range is a little bit higher because it is so sought after. People tend to want to stay here because they know their homes are going to continue to increase in value.

What style of homes are in the area, predominantly?

If you want to live in the downtown, within almost walking distance to the shops and restaurants, a lot of the homes are in the historic district. In this district, you cannot tear down a home. If you do buy one and renovate, you have to meet the city’s requirements on how to keep it historic, so it takes on a very Victorian style. So, a lot of the homes are Victorian, craftsmen.

If you venture out further from downtown, you’ll find more of that traditional-style home. There are also quite a few newer developments, like gated communities, with beautiful homes.

What is there to do in and around the town?

Maybury State Park is right in Northville, with running, walking and bike trails, and plenty of activities.

One of the things that makes Northville so wonderful is its green space. There are a ton of parks and trails, woods, ponds, lakes, rivers—a lot of areas for exploring and exercising, taking walks, running, and hitting the

Northville’s vibrant downtown boasts great boutiques and restaurants.

Image © Michigan Municipal League.

bike paths. That’s the one thing that makes this area very unique, and why it’s so desirable (besides the homes and the downtown). It’s so handy having all of that available to you without having to belong to a gym or drive far to go work out—it’s right at your back door.

One of the super-unique things that I personally absolutely love is Maybury State Park—a state park right within Northville. It’s maybe about 1,000 acres, with bike trails, walking trails and running trails, and there are plenty of winter activities that you can do there, like crosscountry skiing or horseback riding. Maybury State Park might be the best feature in this area. I love to just go walking, and I have a dog, so I take her there running a lot.

There’s another area called Hines Park that has quite a few biking trails, as well. They shut down the road for 10 miles every Saturday morning for people to go biking and running. There’s definitely a lot of green space, parks and trails that you don’t find in many areas around here.

Is there much tourism in the region?

You get people who come for the restaurants—places that aren’t chains. There’s a historic theater downtown, which people like to check out. And we have one of the biggest Halloween events where the whole city shuts down. The roads are closed and the town is opened up to thousands of families that come. The shops pass out candy, and the residents decorate their homes and make it a big deal.

There’s also a huge Arts and Acts Festival that’s been going on for years. There are so many different events throughout the year that bring people in. We certainly have great, cute shops and things, but it’s the events that really bring the people in.

How far is your town from the nearest major city?

Northville is about 30 miles from Detroit, and many people live in Northville and commute to Detroit for work. Most people commute about 30 minutes on average, while others commute over an hour one way because they want to live here, but maybe they work on the other side of town. To them, it’s worth it.

What are some of your favorite businesses or attractions in the region?

Well, Maybury State Park is definitely one of my favorites, but there are tons of other great places.

There are super-cute boutiques downtown where you can get some one-of-a-kind stuff—it’s not mall-type stores. There’s one in particular that I like, called Rococo‚ which sells small batches of beautiful designer things.

There’s also a great coffee place called Red Dot Coffee. It’s a cute coffee shop, and they have some amazing things in there. You can bring your laptop, and it’s great for meetings if you have to meet someone for an hour. There’s a cute little lounge area, a fireplace and an outdoor patio for if you want to sit outside in the warmer months.

There’s a lovely restaurant called Table 5—it’s probably the best in downtown. It’s always packed—always. It’s a white-tablecloth type place, but not stuffy or foodie. They have really cool drinks, and the bartenders have been there forever, so they know a lot of the locals that come in all the time. It’s one of those places where you go, and you always see people you know. The food is outstanding, the service is great, and it just has a warm feeling. 