The city of East Lansing, along with the Hometown Housing Partnership and Mayberry Homes, held an outdoor housing fair Tuesday to promote Avondale Square to potential buyers.

Mullins said she has seen several serious inquiries about the Avondale homes, but nobody has committed to start construction because of the economy.

“We have heard that many potential buyers are having difficulty selling their homes or they are influenced away from this option because of the large inventory of existing homes on the market,” Mullins said.

MSU economics professor Jeff Biddle said he does not think more houses will be sold or bought in the fall because the economy still is in a recession.

Potential buyers, like Scott and Hyunjoo Duarte, said they liked the location of the block and that the houses were new.

“This is the perfect proximity to downtown and to (MSU) but it’s far enough away,” Scott Duarte said.

The homes start at about $150,000 and are aimed at anyone planning for permanent residence in East Lansing, said Jodie Unkovich, a sales associate for Mayberry Homes.

“It’s something for everybody,” she said. “We are seeing a lot of families with kids move in.”

But Biddle said he thinks the neighborhoods around the university will continue to primarily be occupied by students, because they will be willing to pay more than other residents for the location.

“There are a lot of students at Michigan State University — it’s a record-high enrollment this year and every one of them would rather be closer to the university than farther away and they all need a place to live,” Biddle said.

The Avondale Square redevelopment will install 30 housing units along with a park and alleyways. Currently, four homes have been developed and all are occupied. The first home was put up for sale in 2007.

Unkovich said Mayberry Homes has seen an increase in homes being built and sold throughout East Lansing. The developer will build more homes in Avondale Square as people are willing to buy them.

“We have definitely, as a building company, seen an upswing in the market,” she said. “Getting people to sell their old homes are some of the hurdles we have to jump over.”

The Hometown Housing Partnership, an organization that helps people find affordable housing options, is involved with the project and hopes to make 12 of the Avondale homes accessible to income-qualified individuals.

Executive Director of the Hometown Housing Partnership Michelle Reardon said her goal at the fair was to inform people about their housing options.

“The whole fair is to bring awareness to a variety of housing types,” Reardon said.

Staff reporter Brittany Shammas contributed to this report.