The Top 10 HOTTEST Housing Markets In Southeast Michigan. It’s no secret Michigan had some seriously high appreciation in the housing market over the last year or so. In this video, I am going to talk about the top 10 cities in metro Detroit that experienced the biggest increase in home sales year over year. Let’s get to it.
This blog is a direct transcript from the video below. This comes in 3 versions: You are able to watch the video, read the blog for your convenience or listen to the audio experience (which is linked under the video below).
The Detroit Free Press came out with an article a couple weeks ago for the top 10 metro Detroit cities with the biggest home sale surges of 2021. So like I mentioned, I’m going to tackle that list right here with you and tell you why they ranked what they did.
Oh, and if you’re new here, my name is Andrew McManamon with Living In Michigan. I make videos about moving to, moving within and everything in between in the fine state of Michigan. So let this be your resource to get some more knowledge about the mitten state.
Southeast Michigan experienced home price growth of around 15% compared to late 2020. CoreLogic’s housing index touched on all the southeast counties in Michigan to come up with the top 10 cities I'm going to dive into.
Starting off with number 10, Chesterfield Twp. For those of you that don’t know where Chesterfield Twp is, it’s on the easternmost part of the state, North of St. Clair Shores and around Anchor Bay which connects to Lake St. Clair. And before I go further, I know what you’re thinking, this place isn’t as cool as xyz or as walkable as abc, and you’re right, but realize this top 10 list is about cities with the biggest increase in sales between 2020 and 2021, not sales volume or actual number of sales. Chesterfield Twp had a 14% increase in home sales which ended up boosting their median sales price up 19% to just over $337,000.
Next on the list at number 9 is Ferndale, and again if you aren’t familiar with where Ferndale is, just remember it’s smack dab in the middle of the Oak park, Hazel Park and Royal Oak. In Ferndale, Home sales were up 15%, which drove their median sale price to over $242,000, which is 5% higher year over year.
North of Royal Oak and east of Birmingham, we have number 8, Clawson. Clawson’s sales were up 16%, even though their median sales price went down 1% to $224,000. I’m sure you’re starting to see the trend here in locations. Since the market got so hot driving prices higher, and work transitioned from the office to at home, employees didn’t feel the need to have a house in these expensive cities to be closer to their workplace.
Between Eastpointe, Fraser and St. Clair Shores, brings us to number 7, Roseville. Roseville’s home sales were up 16% taking their median sales price up to $152,000, which is a 17% increase. As I’ve talked about in a lot of my other videos, first-time homebuyers are flooding the market more than ever. Eastpointe, Fraser, St. Clair Shores, and Roseville are all areas I’ve traveled personally to show a first time home buyer a home they could ACTUALLY afford.
Since I’m from Brighton, a lot of my first time buyers want to find a place in Brighton or Howell to stay close to family (which is understandable), but they don’t realize as years go on, the search radius gets bigger and bigger around those areas, and the commute to their old stomping grounds turns into 30, 40, or 50+ minutes.
The next city is also near St. Clair Shores and Roseville is Warren. Warren is ranked number 6, as their home sales year over year increased 18%, but their median sale price had a 3% decrease from 2020 to 2021. Warren and Roseville do a great job of accommodating residents with ease of access to I-696 for a smooth commute.
Another city that is tied for having a 18% increase in sales is number 5, Birmingham. Birmingham is definitely an outsider on this list, since the median sales price comes in at $665,000 at the time of the original article, while the other 8-9 cities on this list are in the 200’s as far as average sale price. But if there was a city to be an exception on this list, it would be Birmingham. Yes, it’s more expensive, yes it’s more luxurious, but as my last few videos about the greatest places to live in the state, Birmingham always ranked high. So despite its price tag, this city simply has desirability. And if you’ve ever been there, I think you’d feel the same way.
Coming in at number 4, as another city with an 18% increase in home sales, just east of Royal Oak, is Madison heights. Madison heights ranked higher on this list than Birmingham because Birmingham actually had a median sale price that decreased 1%, whereas Madison Heights saw a sales price increase of 9%.
Bringing us to number 3 is Farmington. Farmington saw a 20% increase in home sales and a 19% increase on their median sale price from 2020 to 2021. Having this city in the top 3, doesn’t surprise me very much, because I sold a home there last November and there was so much organic attention on that home that the sellers could hardly come back for something to eat before the house was being shown again. It also sold well above the asking price as well.
Another city that is ranked among the top 5 best places to live in Michigan, has found its way to number 2 on this list for home sale increases, is Troy. Troy also saw a 20% increase in home sales and experienced a median sale price increase of 11%, bringing the average to just over $380,000.
Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, number one, the one and only Sterling Heights. Sterling Heights has been increasing in popularity, not only because it’s still on the affordable spectrum, but also because of its amazing location for a nice commute to M-53 and Metro Parkway, along with being a central hub to a lot of stores and shops off the M-59 corridor. Sterling Heights saw a home sale increase of 31% and a median sale price increase of 4.4%. Again, location and affordability seem to be the biggest takeaways here for landing a spot on this list.
That concludes the top 10 list of metro Detroit cities that saw the biggest increase in home sales. For you Michiganders out there, what’d you think of the results? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
If you have any questions about a city, township or village in southeast Michigan, don’t hesitate to reach out, I'm happy to be a resource.
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 rising stars of Michigan real estate agents. 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 White Lake, Michigan.
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