Ann Arbor, Michigan Housing Market

How much can you negotiate in Ann Arbor?

Only 65 out of every 100 homes for sale have found a buyer. The other 35 are still waiting. Your offer may be the only one on the table. Few sellers are dropping their price. Asking prices are holding firm. Your discount will come from one stale listing, not from the whole market.

A typical Ann Arbor home takes 37 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago. There are 379 homes for sale in Ann Arbor. That is 3.0 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 525. Supply is growing against last year.

What to do about it

• Search Ann Arbor homes listed 60+ days ago that have already cut their price.
• Offer below the reduced price.
• Keep your inspection and financing contingencies.
• Ask the seller to pay closing costs.
• You can lose a few offers here and still win.

Is now a good time to buy in Ann Arbor?

Asking prices are 24.6% below their Jan 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower. Ann Arbor prices rose in only 65 of the last 108 months. This market goes up and down. Timing matters here. Growth will not rescue a bad price.

There is no rush. Prices are still coming down. Watch the homes you like. Come back after they cut. Let the seller move first.

Who will rent from you in Ann Arbor?

In Ann Arbor, 47 out of every 100 households rent. That is nearly half. That share has held steady for five years. 6.5% of homes sit empty. That is normal for a healthy market.

The median Ann Arbor household earns $93,414 a year. Incomes here have grown 3.9% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 5.8 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. A tenant on the median income can pay about $2,335 a month. That is the standard 30% affordability line. Rents above it thin your tenant pool fast.

What numbers should you underwrite a Ann Arbor deal with?

• Price growth to assume — 0.0%/yr. 1 year: -3.5% · 5 years: 0.0% · ten years: +3.4%. Do not use the ten-year rate. Most of that growth landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. The five-year rate is what Ann Arbor does without one. Underwrite closer to 0.0%. Measure growth per square foot. Ann Arbor median list price grew 2.0% a year, but price per square foot grew 3.4%. The gap is smaller homes, not weaker growth. The house you buy will not shrink. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.
• Months of carrying cost — 2. A typical home takes 37 days to sell. Budget that long when you exit or refinance.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 6. About 16% of homes on the Ann Arbor market right now have already cut their asking price. Assume you are one of them when you sell. Do not underwrite an exit at your asking price.
• Comp on this, not median price — $298/sqft. The typical Ann Arbor listing shrank from 2,167 to 1,937 sqft since Jul 2016. So median price hides real growth: 40% per sqft versus 21% on the median. Comp on median price and you will overpay for small homes.
• Competition when you exit — +14%. That is how much the number of homes for sale grew in a year. Your resale will face a bigger crowd than today's comps did.
• Price-to-income ratio — 5.8×. A typical home costs 5.8 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving.
• Tenant rent ceiling — $2,335/mo. 30% of the median household income of $93,414. Rents above this line shrink your tenant pool fast.

Is Ann Arbor a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Yes, if you negotiate. Buyers have the upper hand in Ann Arbor right now. 0.65 out of every 100 homes for sale have a buyer, 16% of sellers have cut their price, and a typical home takes 37 days to sell.

Are Ann Arbor home prices going up or down?

Asking prices are 24.6% below their Jan 2024 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower.

What price growth should I assume for Ann Arbor?

0.0%/yr. 1 year: -3.5% · 5 years: 0.0% · ten years: +3.4%. Do not use the ten-year rate. Most of that growth landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. The five-year rate is what Ann Arbor does without one. Underwrite closer to 0.0%. Measure growth per square foot. Ann Arbor median list price grew 2.0% a year, but price per square foot grew 3.4%. The gap is smaller homes, not weaker growth. The house you buy will not shrink. The one-year rate is a timing signal. It is not an underwriting input.

How fast are homes selling in Ann Arbor?

A typical Ann Arbor home takes 37 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago.

Is Ann Arbor a renters' market or an owners' market?

In Ann Arbor, 47 out of every 100 households rent. That is nearly half. That share has held steady for five years. 6.5% of homes sit empty. That is normal for a healthy market.

What rent can Ann Arbor tenants afford?

A tenant on the median income can pay about $2,335 a month. That is the standard 30% affordability line. Rents above it thin your tenant pool fast. The median Ann Arbor household earns $93,414 a year.