Living In Grosse Pointe Michigan (A Michigan Luxury) - Grosse Pointe Michigan is a hidden treasure here in southeast Michigan to say the least, with its rich culture, priceless shores off of lake St. Clair, charming community and remarkable architecture. The question is, which Grosse Pointe is the best? Since there’s 5 of them.
There have been quite a few people reaching out to me about the Grosse Pointes, not realizing that despite how close they are to one another, they are very much different. They’re quintuplets, but very much fraternal. With that being said, let this be your guide for all things Grosse pointe Michigan, as i’ll break down what to know, and how they’re different so you can make the most well informed decision possible. Let’s get to it.
Grosse Pointe Michigan Location
The five Grosse Pointes are the city of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe woods, and Grosse Pointe shores. Grosse Pointe which means "Large point" in French, started as a strip along the shore which had what was called ribbon farm homes that stretched all the way to Hamtramck, the area was a marker for canoe men and in the 1800’s a lumber industry began buying plots of land and building these cottages and drew several of the workers to the Grosse pointes, and to this day, the area is still a lure for those with wealth due to their unmatched shorelines and breathtaking landscapes.
The biggest question is, why are there 5 of them and why do they pretty much all have the same name?
And after doing more digging, from what the Grosse Pointe Historical society mentioned is this area was all once Grosse Pointe township, and there was a dispute over alcohol that created this division (of course there’s a little more to it). Some of the Grosse Pointes said drinking alcohol lead to bad decisions and recklessness that not only harmed the community physically, but it didn’t exactly give them a good look either. The Grosse Pointes have had the reputation for hundreds of years for being a pretty exclusive community, and when the weather would get warmer people would venture over to the shore, and in 1880’s it got to be a very heated debate that resulted in these five separate municipalities, and that’s why you can’t have alcohol in some Grosse pointes to this day, I'm kidding of course. I know you probably thought it was a cooler reason than that, but unfortunately not.
Now let’s get into the specifics of each Grosse pointe and how they differ from one another.
Gross Pointe Shores Michigan
Grosse Pointe Woods Michigan
Grosse Pointe Farms Michigan
City of Grosse Pointe Michigan
Grosse Pointe Park Michigan
Looking at a map, the most northern pointe is Grosse Pointe shores, and just inland you have Grosse Pointe woods, going south you have Grosse Pointe farms, the city of Grosse Pointe, then Grosse Pointe Park.
Kicking off with the City of Grosse Pointe Michigan, it’s 2.25 square miles in size with a population of just under 6,000 people and is more of that sparse suburban feel.
Grosse Pointe Farms Michigan is 12.33 square miles in size with a population of under 10,000 people and is considered to be more rural.
Grosse Pointe Park Michigan is 3.71 square miles in size with a population of under 12,000 people and is again more of that sparse suburban feeling.
Grosse Pointe Woods Michigan is 3.24 square miles in side with a population under 17,000 people feeling on the rural side.
Last but not least, Grosse Pointe Shores Michigan is 19.08 square miles in size with a population of around 2700 people and is considered rural too, simply due to the houses per square mile.
These days when budget is everything, I thought it would be fair to tackle the home prices in each of these areas to give you a sense of how far you can stretch your dollar, because they are definitely not the same price tag even though it would seem like they would be.
If you could throw a rock to another area and save $250,000, would you? Thought so.
Grosse Pointe Michigan Home Prices
Taking a look at these graphs, which shows the average sale price over the last 3 years, This busy looking one has the city of Grosse Pointe in blue, Grosse Pointe shores in green, Grosse Pointe woods in yellow, and Grosse Pointe farms in red, and since there’s so many Grosse pointe’s it bleeds into this second chart that shows Grosse Pointe park in blue as well as the whole MLS in green for reference. The city of Grosse Pointe Michigan has an average sale price of over $507,000 which was a 9.5% increase year over year, Grosse Pointe shores is just under 2.4 million which was a 30.4% increase, Grosse Pointe woods is just over $360,000 which was a 10.4% increase, Grosse Pointe farms is just over $596,000, a 8.7% increase, then we have Grosse Pointe park at just over $525,000 which was a 4.1% increase.
So within the Grosse Pointes, the price is ranging from $360,000 to almost 2.4 million dollars depending on which one you find yourself in, so the area definitely caters to a wide range of homebuyers. You might be wondering what in the Grosse Pointe shores is going on here after looking at that stair step graph, and the reality is, homes don’t sell very often over there in the village of Grosse Pointe shores, the graphs show there was hardly a home a month, so when a big house sells it skews the numbers pretty hard to say the least.
Grosse Pointe Michigan Homes For Sale
Numbers are cool and all, but what do these homes look like? Fantastic question.
As of right now, there are 63 homes and condos for sale in the Grosse Pointes ranging from a $95,000 condo in the city of Grosse Pointe with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 744 square feet, built in 1975 with a shared basement for storage and laundry, and a $250 monthly HOA that covers heat, central A/C, water, and all exterior maintenance.
Then up to a 4.8 million dollar home in Grosse Pointe farms, it’s not really a home, it’s a castle to be honest. With 7 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, over 8,800 square feet, situated on 2.5 acres, and built in 1928 with a 3.5 car garage.
The most common price point out of all 63 of these results is in the 300’s range with a home or condo available in 3 out of the 5 Grosse Pointes (excluding the city and the shores) under $325,000.
Grosse Pointe Michigan Home Styles & Architecture
One thing the Grosse Pointes have in common across the board is the historical architecture and style the neighborhoods give off. The majority of the homes are older than 1960, based on MLS data there’s only been 6 homes in the last year out of all 5 of these areas that sold that are newer than 2001. So if you’re someone seeking new modern, sharp edged homes with a minimal design these areas probably won’t satisfy that need of yours if we are talking about the majority.
Keep in mind, Grosse Pointe was first a French colony, so there’s a lot of that inspiration dripping all over the area, but that doesn’t mean there's not variety, you can get your hands on farm houses, craftsman style houses, old brick houses with large columns, those 1950’s and 60’s mid century modern homes that have kept their character while others have completely renovated and spruced it up as well as Tudors and Dutch colonials. It’s safe to say the words cookie cutter and Grosse Pointe do not belong in the same sentence and if they do it’s because Gross Pointe is far from it.
Grosse Pointe Michigan Property Taxes
When we talk about home prices, the cost of the home is one thing, but property taxes are another, so I’m going to briefly run through the property tax amounts in each of the communities throughout the Grosse Pointes so you aren’t surprised when you purchase a home in one of these areas being as the Grosse Pointes are located in Wayne county except for parts of the village of Grosse Pointe shores being in Macomb county as well. Pulling this data from the Michigan property tax estimator, this is based on 2022 data, as the 2023 data comes out in August. The millage rate as I mention in several videos is the rate used to calculate property taxes, as a mill represents $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value.
I have several posts I’ll link below if you want to learn how to calculate them, for right now I'll just raise awareness to the millage rates. For a primary residence, The city of Grosse Pointe sits at 51.7399, Grosse pointe farms sits at 51.7032, Grosse Pointe park is at 53.9977, Grosse Pointe woods is sitting at 56.462, the village of Grosse Pointe shores is 53.7106 in Wayne county, and the village of Grosse Pointe in Macomb county that is in the south lake school district, sits at 45.1241. The spread isn’t too drastic, unless you do that jump from Wayne county to Macomb in Grosse Pointe shores, but more times than not, people are willing to take on that expense to get in the Grosse pointe school district.
Grosse Pointe Michigan Rankings
With the geography, home prices and property taxes out of the way, I wanted to break down a report card for each one of these areas as well as the rankings they received before hopping into the community feel.
City of Grosse Pointe Michigan Rankings
According to Niche.com, The city of Grosse Pointe ranks #8 of 624 best places to retire in Michigan, #11 of 620 places with the best public schools in Michigan and #11 of 336 suburbs with the best public schools in Michigan, like I said, people will pay a little more for that district.
The city of Grosse Pointe was given an overall grade of an A+ which factors in public schools, housing, good for families, jobs, cost of living, outdoor activities, crime and safety. Nightlife, diversity, weather, health and fitness as well as the commute.
Grosse Pointe Woods Michigan Rankings
Grosse Pointe woods ranks #5 of 624 best places to retire in Michigan, #7 of 338 best suburbs to buy a house in Michigan, and #8 of 803 best places to buy a house in Michigan. It’s safe to say Grosse Pointe woods is a good spot to buy a home in Michigan.
The overall grade given by niche.com is an A+ once again for all the factors I listed before.
Grosse Pointe Park Michigan Rankings
Grosse Pointe park was ranked #13 of 620 places with the best public schools in Michigan, #13 of 336 suburbs with the best public schools in Michigan and #16 of 802 bets places to raise a family in Michigan, and again the overall grade is another A+.
Grosse Pointe Farms Michigan Rankings
Moving over to Grosse Pointe farms, it ranks #3 of 624 best places to retire in Michigan, #8 of 338 best suburbs to buy a house in Michigan and #9 of 803 best places to buy a house in Michigan. Niche also through this community an overall grade of an A+.
Grosse Pointe Shores Michigan Rankings
Last but not least we have Grosse Pointe shores, which ranks #1 of 624 best places to retire in Michigan, #26 of 336 suburbs with the best public schools in Michigan and #27 of 338 best suburbs to live in Michigan, while earning an overall grade of (you guessed it) an A+.
I wish my report card looked that good in school.....
Grosse Pointe Michigan Community
When it comes to the community feel, it’s no secret that by everything I've said so far, they are very unique in their own way.
The City of Grosse Pointe Michigan Atmosphere
The city of Grosse Pointe for example has the awesome downtown district, very walkable, clean and renovated to perfection while keeping the historic charm. It’s been a runway for shoppers for over 75 years, and while it has a robust feeling, it still keeps that quaintness that Grosse Pointe is known for. There's a focus on preserving its historic charm while also embracing modern amenities. It’s a mix of residential areas, boutique shops, and local businesses.
There’s a pretty extensive events calendar provided by the chamber of commerce that spills into all the different Grosse Pointe communities. Let’s just say it’s hard not to do something different every single day. Despite the separation of these 5 communities they have several events and attractions in each community bringing all the GP’ers together.
Grosse Pointe Woods Michigan Atmosphere
Grosse Pointe Woods is more inland than the other Grosse Pointes so there tends to be a little more amenities like the Lochmoor golf club, the McCann ice arena, a few parks, Grosse Pointe north high school, as well as several restaurants and boutique shops along Mack avenue. It has a suburban feel to it, with a lot of different recreational opportunities, and a closer proximity to some of the cities and areas to the west for additional nearby amenities as well. I have some family in st. Clair shores just north of Grosse Pointe woods and we stroll in there from time to time.
Grosse Pointe Shores Michigan Atmosphere
Grosse Pointe Shores on the other hand is west of Grosse Pointe woods like I mentioned and is much more exclusive and private with the yacht club, waterfront parks, the old ford house that is now turned into a museum, This area is purely residential, and surrounded by the natural beauty that lines the shores of lake st. Clair.
Grosse Pointe Farms Michigan Atmosphere
Grosse Pointe Farms is directly south of Grosse Pointe shores and still on the shore but the area comes inland some more until Mack avenue where I said I stroll into from time to time, and one place in Grosse Pointe Farms particularly, is the jagged fork which has several location but is an amazing breakfast spot on Mack avenue that makes the prettiest pancakes, you’ll have to find out for yourself. This is an exclusive area to but it’s a little more open and spacious feeling, with the country club of Detroit, the crescent sail yacht club and the pier park which has several amenities like pickle ball, volley ball, a boat launch, tennis, fishing, basketball and tier36 a little restaurant or concession area too. Most of the offerings are along Mack avenue but there is more along Kercheval avenue heading into the city of Grosse Pointe.
Grosse Pointe Park Michigan Atmosphere
Lastly, we have Grosse Pointe park which is the southern most Grosse Pointe and the closest to Detroit to take advantage of there amenities. Often referred to as “the park” or “GPP”, this area has a vibrant commercial district, lots of locally owned business, known for there tree lined neighborhoods, you have the Matthew c Patterson park on the shore, windmill pointe park, the okulski family theater, along with several restaurants and shops along not only Mack avenue but Kercheval avenue as well.
The real question is, which Grosse Pointe would you live in and why? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew McManamon is a Michigan REALTOR® with Signature Sotheby’s International Realty and provides real estate services to Buyers, Sellers and Investors throughout SE Michigan including Livingston County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County, Genesee County & beyond. Andrew has become one of the pillars of Michigan real estate. Prior to his real estate career Andrew was responsible for managing a senior living facility in Brighton, Michigan as a dining supervisor and an activities assistant. Andrew’s passion to help people is unlike any other, and he continues to strive to be best resource he can be. Andrew graduated from Cleary University in Howell, Michigan with a double major and currently resides in Brighton, Michigan.
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