Blog

State officials eye Sable Homes’ River Hills Estates as model development for solving housing crisis

State officials and economic developers are eyeing Sable Homes’ River Hills Estates development in Newaygo as a new home development model that could solve the workforce housing crisis in Michigan. John Bitely, president of Sable Homes, has long recognized the need for workforce housing for the “missing middle.” In early 2020, he began working with […]

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Bitely: Home builders are key to resolving lot shortages and development restrictions

While industry reports show new home construction in 2020 was the healthiest it’s been in over a decade, home builders continue to work diligently to re-calibrate the perpetual lot shortages and development restrictions that have impeded affordable new home construction for years. John Bitely, president of Rockford-based Sable Homes, the West Michigan region’s third largest […]

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MarketWatch Report: New-home construction activity soars to highest level in over a decade

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported home builders nationwide started construction on homes at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.67 million in December 2020, representing a 5.8 percent increase from the previous month’s figure. Permitting for new homes occurred at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.71 million, up 4.5 percent from November, according to a […]

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Alabama media seeks home purchasing expertise from Sable Homes’ Karin Kay

Trussville Tribune outside Birmingham, Alabama, sought Rockford, Michigan-based Sable Homes Sales Manager Karin Kay for her real estate expertise when buying a new home in 2021. In addition to Kay, the Jan. 5 story featured national housing industry experts from Atlanta, Georgia; Montgomery, Alabama; and Tampa, Florida, who shared these five steps for home buyers […]

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GRBJ: Community collaboration sets ‘unique’ stage for Sable Homes’ River Hills Estates in Newaygo

Sable Homes of Rockford, Newaygo County and the Michigan Land Bank Authority came together to execute a first-of-its-kind use of brownfield incentives to support construction of 20 new workforce homes in the city of Newaygo. The Newaygo County Commission gave its unanimous support to incentives to help pay for infrastructure and site preparation costs at […]

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Newaygo community welcomes Sable Homes’ upcoming River Hills Estates neighborhood

The Newaygo County Commission has given unanimous support for incentives to help pay for infrastructure and site preparation costs at Phase II of River Hills Estates, a new neighborhood of market rate homes in the City of Newaygo. “Homes in River Hills Estates are designed to be affordable for ‘missing middle’ home buyers who may […]

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John Bitely named a top West Michigan business leader for second year in a row by the Grand Rapids Business Journal

For the second year in a row, Sable Homes President John Bitely has been named one of Grand Rapids Business Journal’s 200 Most Powerful Business Leaders in West Michigan. Bitely, who founded Sable Developing Inc. in 1996, was named a GRBJ 2020 top business leader in the construction and design category for 2020. He was […]

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