Q&A: Real estate and Midland development with Badger Beall

With an intrinsic desire to pursue the extraordinary in business and in life, Midland native Badger Beall has steadily grown in the real estate industry. Beall is one of the one of the owners of Ayre/Rhinehart Realtors and has gained wisdom through successes and failures over the years. He helps clients land their dream homes through a fresh approach to relationship building. We had a chance to talk with him about why Midland is a great place to make a home, trends in the local real estate market and what to look for as a homebuyer.

Q: In your role as a real estate agent, what’s been your take on all the Midland changes over the last five years?

A: From a growth standpoint, the downtown area has seen the biggest change. Momentum Midland and Midland Baseball Foundation have been huge contributors to our growth. Prior to that, the H Hotel with the development of new eateries like Cafe Zinc and Bar Oxygen have been hugely positive for the quality of life in Midland. The newly announced McLaren office building by the mall is another new and exciting dynamic because of the level of professionals that it will bring to town and the opportunities for employment.

Q: What are you most excited about for new developments?

A: The stuff I’m most excited about are things more local and low key developments. Ellsworth LLC is transforming a three-story, eight unit condominium located in Downtown Midland. These smaller opportunities mean there is a true presence of growth and innovation in the city that doesn’t have a large Fortune 500 company backing it. It’s more organic in nature and that’s the kind of stuff that’s pretty cool to see take shape. 

Q: You’re a longtime resident of Midland, what makes the city so special and what are the biggest things Midland has to offer?

A: I am very passionate about Midland. I moved here right before my sophomore year of high school, went away to college and then moved back here from Detroit. For my wife and I, raising our kids here was fabulous, as Midland is a great place to build a family. That being said, I love to travel and to come home to this city. Visiting other places highlights the great quality of life here. A lot of people don’t have a spot that’s truly theirs and for my family, Midland is home.

Q: What are the biggest trends in housing right now? Any areas that are in demand?

A: We aren’t really seeing the population growing. People are staying in their homes a little longer and there are fewer people under each roof. The demand has firmed up and the higher-end have softened a bit. It’s the perception of that market that discourages people from buying higher priced home, but the market of mid-range homes has been really strong.

Q: Let’s say I'm looking for a house in Midland, what are the most important things to consider?

A: It’s really different for everyone! People buy into their lifestyle, skill set, income level and belief system about real estate. Aesthetics might matter more to a single twenty-something where yard size might matter more to a growing family. What’s most important is what the client wants because people buy much more on emotion more than logic, even when it comes to homes. They’ll say things like, “this house just felt better.”

Q: You’re an agent, but you have a ton of other projects going on, can you tell us a bit more about those?

A: I’m passionate about entrepreneurship and organic growth. One of the links that’s not marketed to the Tri-CIty communities of Bay City, Midland and Saginaw is the presence of entrepreneurship. Midland has a lot of pockets of entrepreneurship that people just don’t know about.

From the outside, in the entrepreneurial community, I haven’t seen much growth. While rental rates stay the same, insurance has tripled. The value of properties are declining, so we need organic growth outside of corporations. The problem is when entrepreneurs get older their vision tends to stall. With that being said, I’m also starting a podcast all about highlighting the journey of innovators in our community. We have people lined up to talk to, and are probably about a month away from kicking off. It will be called EntreMidland, and we have EntreSaginaw, EntreBayCity, and EntreMI reserved a well.


Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in Midland when you're not helping others land their dream home?

A: My family is number one in life. I’m also an avid bicyclist. Many people don’t realize Midland is one of the top places to cycle in Michigan. We have hundreds of miles of trails around the Greater Midland area and some pretty cool cycling events in the region. I love to recoup from the week by mountain biking up in the woods.