Luke Jeffries, CEO of Southwest Michigan Realtors Association (SWMAR)

Mike introduced our speaker for the day, Luke Jeffries, CEO of Southwest Michigan Realtors Association (SWMAR). Mike’s father held the same position previously. Luke grew up in Allegan, MI, and now resides in Riverside. He graduated from Columbia University in Missouri. He has been in the real estate industry for 13 years, with the last 6 years spent at SWMAR. He took over as CEO this January. 

Luke reviewed the purpose of SWMAR, which includes being an advocate for realtors, providing education, offering training, and ensuring oversight. He provided a review of recent national trends and then presented some local statistics. One interesting statistic is that the median age for a first-time home buyer is 38 years old, much higher than previous years.

Also of interest is the increase in significance of pet ownership. A much higher percentage of buyers make decisions on how it affects their pets! The number one decision to buy is still the desire to own your own home. The next is to get a bigger home, and the third is to be near family. School systems are less critical now since 73% of buyers do not have a child under 18. For sellers, the typical age is 63, again on the rise. Home ownership is much more challenging for younger buyers, due to the decreased supply of mid-priced homes. A contributing factor is that home prices have soared up by 50-70% in most areas of the country since the Pandemic. This is problematic because homeownership is an excellent way for people to build net worth. Luke showed a graph to illustrate this, renting vs. home ownership, which showed a stark difference in net worth between the two. 

Luke Jeffries 

SWMAR, 3123 Lakeshore Drive 

269-983-6375, Ext 5 

[email protected] 

Swmar.com