Activities are planned throughout metro Detroit this week to celebrate the federal holiday known as Juneteenth, which marks Black Americans’ freedom from slavery.

On June 19, 1865, institutionalized slavery ended in Texas, the last state where it remained two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The date officially became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, credited largely to the activist Opal Lee, known as the grandmother of Juneteenth. 

Here is a sampling of events planned to mark the event this week:

∎ Wednesday, June 17

Juneteenth jazz & blues concert: An evening of jazz and blues in honor of the celebration of Juneteenth. Hosted by the Friends of the Southfield Public Library, in the library meeting room, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at 26300 Evergreen Road, Southfield. More information here.

∎ Thursday, June 18

Juneteenth Family Paint Party: Children ages 5+ and their caregivers can join artist Candace Dove in the family-friendly activity of creating Juneteenth paintings at the Detroit Public Library Bowen branch. All supplies will be provided, and registration is required. Runs from 6-7 p.m. Event is at 3648 Vernor Highway, Detroit. More information here.

∎ Friday, June 19

“Juneteenth at Wilson: The stories of us,” sponsored by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, will celebrate “the complexity of the American story” with music, dance, art and interactive activities on June 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The free, family-friendly event takes place at Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park at 1801 W. Jefferson in Detroit. The event, presented by Huron-Clinton Metroparks, has a storytelling theme that encourages attendees to share stories that celebrate the freedom Juneteenth represents. More info here.

Buyers are still shopping for newly built homes in Metro Detroit, but fewer are moving quickly to sign contracts as higher borrowing costs pressure household budgets.

That’s what Darian Neubecker, president of Bloomfield Hills-based Robertson Brothers Homes, is seeing across the company’s communities. While potential buyers continue to research the homebuilding process, website traffic and in-person visits have declined from a year ago.

“There are certainly folks doing homework on buying,” Neubecker said. “I think as soon as we see relief on interest rates, we’ll see sales activity pick back up.”

Neubecker attributed the slowdown to temporary factors, such as higher mortgage rates amid geopolitical factors, including the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. And those factors are impacting new home activity.  

Builders pulled 931 single-family permits across Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne counties through April, marking the second-slowest start to a year since 2012, according to the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan.

In April, builders pulled 310 single-family permits across the five-county region, down 18.4% from 380 permits a year earlier. The decline was led by Wayne County, where permits fell 30.2%, while Oakland County permits dropped 16.5% and Macomb County permits fell 12.1%.

One bright spot: April activity was up slightly from March, when builders pulled 302 permits. While the need for housing remains strong, higher mortgage rates and home prices have reduced affordability and caused some prospective buyers to delay purchasing decisions, economists say.

Mortgage rates remain elevated, with a 30-year fixed loan averaging around 6.5% in recent Freddie Mac data.

“Everybody’s basically waiting to see what happens to mortgage rates, and they have been like on a seesaw,” said Daniil Manaenkov, U.S. forecasting specialist for the University of Michigan’s Department of Economics. “So you would get some improvements, it would start edging down, but then something would happen, and rates would edge back up.”

Manaenkov said housing activity today more closely resembles pre-pandemic levels than the market after COVID-19, when low borrowing costs fueled demand and construction.

The market has softened, though it’s relatively stable rather than severely depressed, Manaenkov said.

Market’s ‘one-two punch’

One recent morning, Neubecker stood inside a two-bedroom townhome under construction at the Scripps District development along Trumbull Avenue in Detroit’s Woodbridge neighborhood.

As crews worked throughout the partially finished development, he spoke of the property’s features and the state of the homebuilding market. The project includes 65 two-bedroom townhomes priced from the upper $300,000s. Construction began about two years ago and is expected to be completed in 2027.

Neubecker said it has been one of Robertson Brothers Homes’ strongest-selling communities, outperforming the company’s other southeast Michigan developments during its early months on the market.

The company has about 100 homes under construction across southeast Michigan, and he estimates sales are down between 15-20%. Some of the other communities in Metro Detroit have seen a slowdown in sales, including developments in Troy and Lyon Township.

He said recent softness in buyer demand is showing up in early-stage sales data and could mean lower permit activity in the near future, Neubecker said: “Sales is always a three- to six-month leading indicator of permit activity.”

He expects the slowdown to be temporary. “Long term, not worried; medium term, not worried,” he said. “Short term, I would classify it as a nuisance more than anything.”

Vito Castellana, owner of V.I.P Homes & Development, said the most significant slowdown is occurring at the entry-level segment of the market, where affordability is the toughest.

In Burton near Flint, he said the company is building 1,500-square-foot single-story condos priced in the high $200,000s and 2,000-square-foot two-story colonials priced in the low $300,000s. Among the company’s other projects are seven single-family homes in Sterling Heights, ranging from 2,600 square feet to 4,000 square feet with three-car garages priced in the $800,000s.

Castellana said many potential buyers are pausing due to current mortgage rates and the desire not to lose the low rates they have on their present homes.