Text: Brenna Buckwald // Photography: Cindy Blasius, RE/MAX Lighthouse

“Northern Michigan is great. Within our little nucleus up here, we have about 30 different golf courses. We really have something for everybody,” said Cindy Blasius, a licensed realtor with RE/MAX Lighthouse Northern Michigan Real Estate Services in Petoskey, Michigan.

Based in Emmet County, Blasius’ real estate services spans a region of city and coastal resort towns like Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, Bay Harbor, and Boyne City. Blasius noted that northern Michigan is a wonderful location for either a permanent residence or a vacation home, given all the activities the area has to offer from outdoor recreation to downtown hospitality and retail.

There is an abundance of opportunities from the many golf courses in the area, beaches and inland lakes, and trails for hiking and biking, to destinations like the Lavender Hill Farm and historical sites—and the fun does not stop when the summer ends either. Blasius said quite a few of her customers purchase vacation homes solely for the winter activities the area has to offer, enjoying the ski hills and other outdoor recreation attractions in the colder season. Visiting the area as a guest offers a lot of year-round entertainment, but the experience is taken to another level when one owns property in northern Michigan, with so much to do right outside their front door.

“Things are selling quickly. A lot more people, because of working at home, are seeing the advantages of living up North and having a lunch break where they can run up to the ski hill for an hour, or go to the golf range,” Blasius said.

“The real estate is really busy up here; we have more buyers than homes,” Blasius added.

Blasius has been working in real estate for approximately four years, but her interest in selling homes stemmed from the business her and her husband own together, Lake Front Contracting LLC, which has specialized in building high-end custom homes for approximately 30 years. Blasius noted that she had always sold the spec homes for their building company, so when her current broker asked her to join his real estate team, her experience in the housing industry made her feel well-equipped to try her hand at selling homes.

“With my real estate customers, I like to have them walk through the house and really try to visualize themselves living there on a day-to-day basis. Walking in the door from work, does this layout work for you? What do you typically do when you come in? If you have got kids, what is your routine? Does this house fit your lifestyle and how you use the property?” Blasius said.

“Just something to give some more thought so that when they get into their house, not only does it work for them, but also they’re really excited. That is even the case with a vacation home: if it is not convenient and it didn’t meet all of their needs, they’re not going to come up here as often as they should,” Blasius added.

Building on her time in the custom home industry, Blasius’ experience and familiarity with houses of all types and styles has proven to be an asset when it comes to assisting her real estate customers in finding their dream home.

“You are not just buying a home; this is one of your biggest investments. This is your lifestyle, this is where you are raising your family and creating memories,” Blasius said.