What Are Michigan's Most Expensive Lakes?
With more than 11,000 inland lakes and their entire shape defined by the Great Lakes, Michigan is a hot spot for lakefront real estate. A recent report from LakeHomes.com, a multi-state brokerage, and real estate database, offers some insight into where the priciest lakefront real estate is found in Michigan. To compile its quarterly Lake Market Report, LakeHomes.com pulled MLS data to find the average listing price for all for-sale homes in each market on Sept. 1, 2018. The top 10 most expensive lakes for lakefront homes in Michigan are listed below, ordered from the least expensive lake to the most expensive lake at No. 1. (Click here to see all Northern Michigan Waterfront Lifestyle Homes for Sale)
10. Lake Macatawa
Average list price: $1,110,482
This 1,700-acre lake in Ottawa County borders the City of Holland. Several parks border the lake, including Holland State Park. (Click here to see Northern Michigan's finest collection of vacation rentals)
9. Glen Lake
Average list price: $1,138,766
This gem in Leelanau County is actually comprised of two lakes -- Little Glen and Big Glen -- which are connected by a channel. The lakes drain into Lake Michigan via the Crystal River and are a stone's throw from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Glen Lake is in northwest Lower Michigan, on the Leelanau Peninsula.
8. Lake Michigan: South Haven area
Average list price: $1,151,259
Lake Michigan is the single biggest lake-front market in Michigan, though property prices can vary based on which region of the state the waterfront is in. Lake Michigan's South Haven shoreline is one of three Lake Michigan regions that appear on this list.
7. Lake Michigan: Petoskey area
Average list price: $1,173,463
The Petoskey area, up in the northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, is home to some beautiful stretches of Lake Michigan -- including Little Traverse Bay and the high bluffs along portions of M-119 (the Tunnel of Trees).
6. Spring Lake
Average list price: $1,253,800
Located near Grand Haven, Spring Lake is a meandering 1,300-acre lake that's drained into Lake Michigan by the Grand River. It borders the village of Spring Lake to the north.
5. Lake Michigan: Glen Arbor area
Average list price: $1,272,473
The village of Glen Arbor benefits not only from its proximity to Glen Lake (No. 9 on this list), but also to its sugar-sand beaches along Lake Michigan.
4. Upper Straits Lake
Average list price: $1,335,752
Upper Straits Lake is one of a smattering of inland lakes in Oakland County, in the metro Detroit area (and in fact, two more of its neighboring lakes top this list).
3. Walloon Lake
Average list price: $1,776,961
The 4,200-some acre Walloon Lake sits east of Charlevoix, in the northern Lower Peninsula. Ernest Hemingway's family had a cottage here, and the writer spent many childhood summers fishing these waters.
2. Upper Long Lake
Average list price: $1,820,090
This Oakland County lake, encompassed by West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Township, is less than 200 acres and has a shoreline approximately five miles long.
1. Orchard Lake
Average list price: $2,197,854
The most expensive lakefront home market in Michigan is Orchard Lake, which at 795 acres is one of the largest lakes in southeast Michigan's Oakland County. (Click here to see all Northern Michigan Luxury Lifestyle Homes for Sale)
Post written by Emily Bingham with MLive.com
Focused on Northern Michigan Investment Real Estate
Brook is focused on lifestyle real estate investment properties as most people want a vacation home to make lifelong memories that endure for their entire family, leave a profound legacy for generations, and they want a solid financial investment at the same time. While the area does have many good realtors, there aren’t many with the unique financial, vacation home investing, and technology marketing background. Brook uses his diverse skill set to help clients properly evaluate and determine whether a vacation home makes financial sense.
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