When an engaged couple with jobs in law enforcement goes house hunting, you can bet crime is among their top considerations.

For Alexus Martinez and James Guardola, Allen Park passed the test. They bought a two-bedroom bungalow near Allen Park High School.

“It’s a safe city,” said Martinez, who works for the Department of Homeland Security at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

“It’s perfect,” said Guardola, an Allen Park native and Detroit police officer.

It’s also popular.

Among Downriver communities, Allen Park is among the hottest destinations for homebuyers. Through the first 10 months of this year, Allen Park residential real estate ranked with the leaders for percentage increase in median prices, fewest days on market leading to a sale, and percentage of asking price received.

Local and national real estate markets have been superheated since the COVID-19 pandemic scrambled lifestyles and economies. Health concerns, lockdowns, tight inventories and a work-from-home trend have produced higher home prices and fierce bidding among potential buyers.

Above-asking price sales have been common.

Now, with just days remaining in this calendar year, real estate professionals say conditions are calming – some.

“It’s still a wild ride,” said Rosanne Couvreur, a broker with Real Living Kee Realty in Rockwood with a quarter-century of experience.

“It’s a seller’s market, still. For buyers, it’s still about competing against multiple offers on most properties.”

Sellers continue to fetch top dollar, Couvreur said, adding that “patience is a key” for home shoppers.

“The fall market has a bit more seasonal feel to it this year, compared to last year, but active buyers continue to give the market a boost,” said Jeanette Schneider, president of Re/Max of Southeastern Michigan.

Added Karen Kage, chief executive of Realcomp II: “October was particularly interesting when placed into a historical context. Setting aside the atypical 2020, sales were well above those previously seen in 2017-19. It is still a very robust marketplace.”

For Martinez, buying a house in today’s environment was accompanied by an array of emotions, from enthusiasm to anxiety. She credited Couvreur for guiding the process to a happy conclusion.

The couple made a handful of unsuccessful offers on other homes before connecting on the Allen Park house for $189,000.

“We looked for a couple of months,” Martinez said. “We looked all over. We were getting discouraged. It was stressful. Now it’s exciting.”

In tracking 18 Downriver communities for the first 10 months of the year, Realcomp reported that closed sales increased 5.8% – to 3,709 homes – from the year-earlier period.

Realcomp said six Downriver communities showed double-digit percentage increases in closed sales for the 10-month period this year: Wyandotte (25.7%, 352 sales); Romulus (17.6%, 234 sales); Lincoln Park (16.3%, 471 sales); Southgate (14.2%, 354 sales); Grosse Ile (11.1%, 150 sales), and Trenton (10.1%, 208 sales).

Allen Park led all communities for percentage of asking price received (103.4%), Realcomp said. Allen Park, Southgate and Woodhaven reported the fewest days on market from listing to sale (12).

Realcomp said Grosse Ile posted the highest average median closing price ($363,750), followed by Huron Township ($298,450), Brownstown Township ($285,250), Woodhaven ($232,000), Gibraltar ($220,000), Flat Rock ($206,500), and Trenton ($196,750).

River Rouge led in the percentage increase in median price (41.4%, $63,500), followed by Ecorse (33.3%, $60,000), Lincoln Park (22.2%, $125,000), Riverview (18.5%, $189,500), Allen Park (17.8%, $179,000), Southgate (16.8%, $160,000) and Rockwood (15.8%, $183,500).