Buying a Home in Ann Arbor
Buying in Ann Arbor in 2026 means entering a market with real, continued year-over-year appreciation and a real, substantial premium over Michigan's statewide average, while confirming a specific property's Proposal A taxable-value baseline and current effective tax rate before finalizing an offer.
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Learn moreUnderstand How Your Purchase Uncaps a Property's Proposal A Taxable Value
As detailed on the property-taxes topic page, a sale uncaps a property's taxable value to its full current state-equalized (market) value -- meaning your first-year property tax bill will likely be based on a meaningfully higher taxable value than the seller's, if the seller held the property for several years under Proposal A's cap. Confirm the actual current and post-sale taxable value directly with the Washtenaw County or City of Ann Arbor Assessor.
Budget for a Real, Substantial Premium Over Michigan's Statewide Average
As detailed on the housing-market topic page, Ann Arbor's average home value runs roughly 81% above Michigan's own statewide average -- confirm current financing pre-approval reflects this real, genuine premium rather than statewide Michigan affordability assumptions.
Factor in Effective Property Tax Rates That Vary by ZIP Code
As detailed on the property-taxes topic page, Ann Arbor's combined effective property tax rate runs a real, disclosed approximately 1.56%, with a real ZIP-level spread (48104 at 1.71%, 48108 at 1.49%) reflecting different overlapping school-district and local-assessment boundaries. Confirm the actual rate for a specific address directly.
Factor Michigan's Real Flat Income Tax and Ann Arbor's Lack of a Local Tax Into Affordability Planning
As detailed on the taxes topic page, Michigan's real, current flat 4.25% state income tax affects take-home pay, though Ann Arbor's real, genuine lack of a local city income tax (unlike Lansing) provides some offset against the city's above-average housing costs.
Key takeaways
- A sale uncaps a property's Proposal A taxable value to full current market value -- confirm the actual resulting tax bill directly with the Washtenaw County or City of Ann Arbor Assessor before finalizing an offer.
- Budget financing around Ann Arbor's real, substantial premium (roughly 81%) over Michigan's own statewide average home value.
- Confirm a specific property's current effective property tax rate directly, given the real, disclosed ZIP-level spread (48104 at 1.71%, 48108 at 1.49%).
- Factor Michigan's real flat 4.25% state income tax and Ann Arbor's real lack of a local city income tax into full affordability planning.
- Confirm current closing-cost and escrow-process specifics directly with a title company or real estate attorney for a given transaction.
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