Metro
ON THE CO VER
Hot Suburbs
Amid an icy market, young Jewish families are on the move.
Elyse and Nathan White of Royal Oak and their son, Austin
Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News
L
ong before winter's chill set in,
those taking the temperature of
Metro Detroit's real estate market
were using icy words. Last year brought
the largest drop in home prices in our
area since the 1980s, the lowest number
of new-home permits in nearly 40 years
and a wave of foreclosures in what's being
called one of the worst
housing slides in Michigan
history. Experts predict the
slump will continue through
2008, but it's not all doom
and gloom.
Young Jewish families are
still buying homes and put-
ting down roots, settling in
"hot suburbs" like Pleasant
Ridge, Ferndale, Berkley,
Royal Oak and Huntington Woods, which
seem to be attracting more young Jews
than ever before.
"My husband Marc and I both grew up
in Farmington Hills, but we decided to
move to Huntington Woods;' said Francine
Newman, 38. "I think a lot of people of my
generation want to be closer to Detroit and
are looking for a more urban atmosphere."
Within the last three years, Newman
helped form a new young adult group
called Kesher (which means "Connection"
in Hebrew) through her synagogue, Beth
Shalom in Oak Park. She says the group
was created to bring together the increas-
ing numbers of 20-, 30- and 40-some-
things settling in south Oakland County.
"We have more than 50 families in our
young adult group:' Newman said. "You
can also see it in the public schools. It's
noticeable. There are a lot of Jewish kids!'
Newman's daughters, Marlee, 12, and
Mackenzie, 10, attend Berkley's Norup
"People tend to forget there's a
vibrant, active, thriving Jewish
community in this area."
- Steven Weiss, Beth Shalom
International School in Oak Park and
Burton Elementary School in Huntington
Woods. While she doesn't have an exact
count, Newman estimates close to 30
percent of the students in their classes are
Jewish.
"I think Huntington Woods has always
had a wonderful mix of Jewish and non-
Jewish families and that hasn't changed:'
said Jane Solomon, a longtime real estate
agent for Prudential Cranbrook. Solomon
lives in Huntington Woods.
Scott and Beth Marx and their daughter, Jamie
"But, I do believe more Jewish people
are moving to Royal Oak, Berkley and
Ferndale. Do I feel it's a Jewish thing? No. I
think it's location, availability to the free-
way (1-696), and to their jobs and schools."
Solomon also believes home prices
are the primary factor driving young
Jewish families to the communities along
Woodward Avenue, between Nine Mile and
14 Mile roads."For young families start-
ing out, it's what they can afford:' she said.
"Plus, these little cities have a lot to offer."
Making The Move
Scott Marx, 37, and his wife Beth, 38, are
preparing to enroll their daughter Jamie,
5, in kindergarten at Burton Elementary,
even though doing so means they'll likely
lose money on their previous home. This
week, the family is moving to Huntington
Woods, leaving the house they've lived
in for the last three years on Plumbrook
Drive in Farmington Hills; the house is
still up for sale.
"We're willing to take a loss on our old
house to gain the sense of community we
feel we've been missing:' says Scott.
When they were first married in 1998,
Suburbs on page A14
„IN
February 7 • 2008
A13