10 Michigan Counties Where Home Values Have Risen the Most

Michigan home values rose sharply between 2019 and 2024. Statewide, the Zillow Home Value Index jumped roughly 50% over five years — a dramatic acceleration driven by pandemic-era demand, historically low interest rates in 2020–2021, and constrained housing supply. But not all counties moved the same way. Some saw gains far exceeding the state average; others lagged. Here is what the data shows.

The State Context: A Once-in-a-Generation Run

The 2019–2024 appreciation cycle was unlike anything Michigan homeowners had seen since before the 2008 housing crisis. Counties that had spent years recovering from crisis-era price crashes saw values finally surpass prior peaks. Others that had stayed resilient through the crisis added another substantial gain on top of already-elevated bases. In nearly every Michigan county, someone who bought before 2019 has seen significant equity appreciation.

Counties With the Largest Appreciation

Among Michigan's resort and tourism counties in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula, the appreciation story has been extraordinary. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a wave of remote-worker migration toward high-amenity rural communities — particularly those with lakefront access, outdoor recreation, and natural beauty. Counties that benefited most:

• Leelanau County (Leland, Northport, Lake Leelanau area): Already a high-end second-home market, Leelanau saw demand from remote workers and retirees accelerate sharply from 2020 onward. Home values approximately doubled in five years in parts of the county, making it one of Michigan's most expensive real estate markets — and one of its fastest-appreciating.
• Grand Traverse County (Traverse City): The Traverse City metro has been one of Michigan's most dynamic small cities for a decade. Home values rose roughly 55–65% from 2019 to 2024, driven by in-migration, a growing professional services sector, and the area's established status as a northern Michigan lifestyle destination.
• Benzie County (Sleeping Bear Dunes area): Bordering Leelanau, Benzie benefited from the same demand wave. Values approximately doubled in some market segments from 2019 to 2023.
• Emmet County (Petoskey, Harbor Springs): Northern Michigan's other high-end market. Harbor Springs in particular sits among the most expensive waterfront real estate in the state. Appreciation ran 50–70% over five years.

West Michigan's Metro Appreciation

Among the Michigan Signals tracked counties, West Michigan leads on five-year appreciation in percentage terms. Ottawa County grew from roughly $245,000 in 2019 to $398,557 by April 2026 — approximately 63% appreciation. Kent County (Grand Rapids) moved from roughly $220,000 to $356,588 — about 62%.

These gains reflect genuine economic expansion: Grand Rapids consistently ranked as one of the strongest Midwest job markets of the past decade, attracting young professionals, healthcare employment growth through Spectrum Health and Corewell Health, and logistics expansion. Rising incomes created demand; constrained supply kept values moving up. Kent County housing data | Ottawa County housing data

Detroit-Area Appreciation: Bigger Than Many Expected

Wayne County has one of the more striking appreciation stories in percentage terms. Starting from a very low base — ZHVI near $100,000 in 2019 — Wayne County values rose to $177,187 by April 2026, an increase of roughly 70%. When your starting point is low, a 70% gain still leaves you with relatively affordable housing. But the percentage gain rivals or exceeds what wealthier counties saw.

This reflects a broader truth about the post-2020 housing market: the bottom of the market appreciated the fastest in percentage terms. First-time buyers, investors, and in-movers from more expensive markets found value in Wayne County's inventory and bid it up. Wayne County housing data

What This Means for Buyers in 2026

The most-appreciated counties are now expensive relative to incomes. First-time buyers in Ottawa, Kent, Leelanau, and Grand Traverse counties face a much more compressed affordability window than existed in 2019. For buyers who owned before the appreciation cycle, equity gains have provided stepping-stone purchasing power. For renters who didn't own during the run-up, the gap is wider.

Explore housing trend data on Michigan Signals county dashboards: Ottawa | Kent | Washtenaw | Oakland

Data Sources

• Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI): Middle-tier home value estimate, smoothed and seasonally adjusted. County-level CSV files updated monthly. Five-year comparison uses January 2019 through April 2026. Zillow Research data