Jake Duell - Realtor KW Northern Michigan

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Jake Duell - Realtor KW Northern Michigan

I’m an Airline Pilot and Realtor with Keller Williams Northern Michigan specializing in aviation relocation.

I help pilots, flight attendants, and aviation professionals navigate base transfers, equipment upgrades, commuting decisions, and career moves.

09/04/2026

I'm an airline pilot and a licensed Realtor with Keller Williams, and I built my business around a very real part of the aviation industry:

People move. A lot.

New base. Upgrade. Junior manning. Moving closer to family. Moving further away from family LOL. Finally buying instead of renting near the airport. Retiring somewhere completely different from where you started.

And a lot of us end up moving to a city where we don't have a
single real estate connection.

That's where I come in.

A generic Realtor referral doesn't always solve the problem. An agent who doesn't understand reserve, commuting, irregular schedules, base changes, or the realities of an aviation career can make an already stressful move harder than it needs to be.

My job is to make that part easier.

I connect aviation professionals, regardless of airline or city, with a vetted realtor in the market they're moving to or selling in.

But I'm not just passing along a phone number.

You tell me what your goals are, what matters to you, and what kind of agent you're looking for. I do the legwork to find the right person for your situation and make the introduction.

No cold-call agent roulette.

Just a trusted connection with someone who knows the local market, while I stay involved as a resource who understands the aviation side of the move.

If you're considering a base change, upgrade, relocation, or even thinking 2-3 years ahead about where you eventually want to land, I'm always happy to talk it through.

No pressure. No sales pitch. Just a conversation.

Comment below or send me a DM. Even if all you have is a question, I'm happy to point you in the right direction.

09/02/2026

Same paycheck. Very different housing math. Delta Air Lines edition.

Delta Air Lines pilots bid into 8 domiciles nationwide. Where you hold or bid changes two things that matter more than almost anything else in this job: what a house costs, and how far your paycheck actually stretches once you're living there.

Pulled median home price and cost-of-living index (US average = 100) for all 8 Delta bases - sorted low to high cost of living in the graphic below.

A few things stand out. Detroit wins on both counts - cheapest homes on the list, and the only base sitting below the national cost-of-living average. Los Angeles is the outlier in the other direction: its homes run nearly 4x what Detroit's do, even though LA's overall cost-of-living index is actually lower than Boston's or New York's - housing carries the base higher, but rent, groceries, and everyday costs matter too. And the ceiling is steep: a New York-based pilot pays 75% more than the national average for everyday life, before even factoring in the price of a house.

Same seniority list, same pay scale, same aircraft - a very different financial picture depending on the three-letter code on your bid.

If you're a pilot who's weighed this - curious to hear it: did cost of living or home prices factor into your basing decision, or did equipment/schedule/seniority win out regardless?

Sources: Median home price — FRED Housing Inventory (realtor.com), metro area, Jul 2026. Cost of living index — composite consumer cost-of-living index, US average = 100, Aug 2026. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Delta Air Lines.

08/26/2026

Same paycheck. Very different housing math.

American Airlines pilots bid into 9 metro areas nationwide (10 domiciles - JFK and LGA both sit in the New York metro area). Where you live changes two things that matter more than almost anything else in this job: what a house costs, and how far your paycheck actually stretches once you're living there.

Pulled median home price and cost-of-living index (US average = 100) for all 9 AA bases - sorted low to high cost of living in the graphic below.

Two things stand out. Home price and overall cost of living don't move together - Philadelphia has the cheapest homes on the list but lands mid-pack on cost of living, while Los Angeles has by far the most expensive homes yet a lower cost-of-living index than DC or New York (rent, groceries, and everyday costs matter as much as the mortgage). And the spread is enormous: a Charlotte-based pilot lives right around the national average, while a New York-based pilot pays 75% more than that average for everyday life - before even factoring in the price of a house.

Same seniority list, same pay scale, same aircraft - a very different financial picture depending on the three-letter code on your bid.

If you're a pilot who's weighed this - curious to hear it: did cost of living or home prices factor into your basing decision, or did equipment/schedule/seniority win out regardless?

- Sources: Median home price - FRED Housing Inventory (realtor.com), metro area, Jul 2026 (Miami: May 2026; Washington DC: Apr 2026). Cost of living index - composite consumer cost-of-living index, US average = 100, Aug 2026. Not affiliated with or endorsed by American Airlines.

07/15/2026

In 2009, the major U.S. airlines hired 30 pilots. Combined across every major U.S. carrier.

In 2022, they hired 13,357.

I mapped U.S. major airline hiring since 1990 with major events alongside. The pattern is impossible to miss, this career doesn’t hire in a straight line. It hires in moody waves.

Airline hiring is closely tied to major events. 9/11 and airline bankruptcy. The 2008 economic recession that brought hiring down to nearly zero. The age-65 rule that quietly delayed a wave of retirements. COVID - and then the rebound, when years of pent-up retirements and travel demand hit all at once.

Anyone working their way towards a major U.S. airline should understand that hiring is very irregular and with that comes booms and busts. Timing is everything, but persistence is the only real way to make sure it happens.

Were you hired during a boom year or a slow year? I’m curious how the timing shaped your path.👇

Data: FAPA.aero major-airline hiring history.

07/08/2026

Why pre-approval before your base change award can save you stress and time.

Bid awards come out. You’re holding a new base. You could be flying out of your new base in as soon as six weeks.

That’s the worst possible moment to call a lender for the first time.

Here’s the part a lot of pilots don’t anticipate: getting a mortgage as a pilot isn’t like getting one as a salaried 9-to-5. Your income story is more complicated - and sorting it out takes time up front, not at closing.

A few things that slow pilot loan files down:

Variable pay. Override, premium, profit sharing, per diem - underwriters average it, and they need the right documents to do it right.

Time in seat. Just upgraded, changed carriers, or still inside your first year? Lenders look harder at income continuity.

Reserve vs lineholder. Guarantee pay matters here, and how it’s documented can move your numbers.

Pre-approval gets all of that reviewed before you ever find a house. A real one - underwriter eyes on your actual W-2s, paystubs, and bid history - not a 90-second online pre-qual.

So when you land in your new base and find the right place, you're not starting the income conversation. You're writing an offer the same day, with a letter listing agents actually respect.

That's the difference between closing before your base change award date and still living out of a crashpad in month two.

Bidding a base this year and thinking about buying near it? Line up financing before the award drops - not after. I can point you to lenders who already speak pilot pay.

07/01/2026

Reserve or lineholder? Your schedule predictability changes how you house-hunt.
Reserve - Your problem isn't finding the house - it's being available when the right one hits the market.
You can't reliably book a Tuesday showing when you might get called to work that morning.
The successful buyers on reserve are the ones who have all their ducks in a row: pre-approved and working with an agent who understands the irregular work schedule, is willing to FaceTime them through a property and write an offer - all while you’re sitting airport standby reserve or on a flying assignment.
Lineholder - You've got a published schedule and know your days off (maybe LOL).
You can group your showings together, take your time, and be more deliberate. This is a different house-hunting game than reserve.
Reserve & lineholder - Where they’re both the same is having a real estate agent that understands a pilot's work schedule is anything but regular, and who needs a clear picture of what you’re looking for so they can jump on any deal that fits the mold.
How can I help?
I bounce back and forth between lineholder and reserve. I know what house-hunting feels like while having a job in aviation. All of my clients are treated with the same understanding.
Every real estate agent my clients are referred to is vetted and interviewed thoroughly to make sure they are the right fit for your property, your personality, and your work schedule.
Don’t chance not finding that perfect property you’re looking for.
Reserve & lineholder pilots - how do you handle showing while you’re on an assignment? Curious how others make it work.

06/26/2026

Every pilot who's taken a base transfer has had this thought:

"I missed my window. Rates were so much better a few years ago."

I ran the actual numbers, and the story isn't what most people assume.

October 1981: the 30-year rate hit 18.63% - the highest ever recorded. Brutal. But the median home cost about 3.6x income, and 20% down was roughly $14K.

Late 2023, the least affordable housing since the early '80s: the rate was 7.79%. Less than half of 1981. Yet adjusted for inflation the monthly payment was nearly identical, the home cost 5.2x income, and 20% down meant about $84K in cash.

The rate got cut in half. But buying didn't get easier.

Here's the part that matters if you're relocating: you can refinance a bad rate at a later date. You can't refinance a down payment. That's the real wall - and it's invisible when you're fixated on the interest rate.

I'm a First Officer and a Realtor in Northern Michigan. A big part of what I do is help fellow aviators think clearly through a base move or a first investment property, and connect them with agents I trust in whatever city they're headed to.

Staring down a relocation and a rate you don't love? Let's talk.

Address

830 E Front Street
Traverse City, MI
49686

Website

http://jakeduell.kw.com/, http://calendly.com/jduell-kw

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