Market Intelligence

The Real Read on
West Michigan Real Estate

Fifteen counties, every week and every month, closing by closing. No national headlines, no hype, just what the data actually says about your market.

Legacy's read as of early July 2026 · June closings

June Was the Strongest Month of the Year

Across our fifteen-county footprint, more homes closed in June than in any month this year, and they sold faster and for a little more. This is a firm, well-supplied market that rewards accurate pricing.

2,278
Homes Closed in June
$408K
Average Sold Price
24
Average Days on Market
3,982
Homes Available Now
6.49%
30-Year Fixed Rate
144
Foreclosure Notices, Year's Low

June closed 2,278 homes, up from 2,096 in May, and days on market fell from 27 to 24 even as the average price firmed about four percent to roughly $408,000. When homes sell faster and for more at the same time, that is demand showing up, not a fluke of the mix. The one thing worth watching: new listings and homes going under contract both eased from May, the first sign the spring surge is cresting rather than accelerating. On rates, the 30-year fixed sits at 6.49 percent, still below the 6.77 percent of a year ago. On a $300,000 home that is about $44 a month less than last June. We show clients the year-over-year payment math, not a rate prediction.

How We Read the Market

Real Estate Does Not Work as a Country. It Works Block by Block.

West Michigan is not one market. It is five or six distinct ones, from an affordability floor to a lakeshore premium. A single service-area average is almost always the wrong number to quote. Here is what we actually track, and why.

Speed and Fall-Through

Days on market, and how often homes come back after going under contract, tell us whether demand is real or wishful. Speed varies block to block: some submarkets turn in about nine days while others run past sixty.

Price by Submarket

We anchor pricing to recent solds for the specific home, never to active-list optimism or a county headline. A handful of luxury sales can lift a whole county average without changing the market underneath it.

Inventory Against Demand

Active listings measured against what is actually going under contract is the balance that shifts everything. Right now the footprint is well-supplied, which is what keeps an accurately priced home moving.

Rates and Behavior

Not just the rate, but how buyers respond to it. We frame rates as year-over-year payment math, because that is honest and useful, and we never predict where they go next.

The Mix, Read Correctly

When an average moves, we check whether values changed or the mix of what sold changed. A month of more mid-priced closings can pull an average down while demand is actually rising. That is a mix story, not a cooling one.

Distress, In Context

We track foreclosure activity across all fifteen counties. The honest answer is almost always that yes, some exists, and no, it is not a wave. Most statewide distress sits in metro Detroit, not our footprint.

June 2026 closed residential activity

The Fifteen-County Footprint

This is the real spread of the market we serve, from Lake County's affordability floor to Ottawa's lakeshore premium. Every number below is June's closed residential activity. Ask us for the read on your specific city.

CountyHomes SoldAvg Sold PriceAvg Days on Market
Kent814$446,11619
Ottawa381$503,77322
Kalamazoo311$351,49421
Muskegon238$294,53335
Allegan123$486,65625
Montcalm68$320,23822
Barry52$409,77428
Mecosta49$328,86035
Ionia44$307,65814
Newaygo41$277,90728
Oceana39$407,98339
Lake38$228,07659
Manistee33$361,66827
Mason29$344,94443
Osceola18$290,00556
Volume Leader

Kent County

Grand Rapids alone closed 378 homes in June at a quick 16-day pace, with Wyoming turning homes in about nine days. A fast core and a more patient top end, with Ada averaging around $868,000. Come pre-approved and price to recent solds, and you transact.

Price Leader

Ottawa County

Ottawa led the footprint on price at a $503,773 average. Holland closed 117 at a quick 19 days, Hudsonville turned homes in about 13, and Spring Lake reached $689,000. The lakeshore premium is firm, but speed varies block to block.

Affordability Anchor

Muskegon County

Muskegon is the affordability anchor of the region, with the city carrying volume around $266,000. The market here is functional across the price band. A fresh-comp conversation and a realistic timeline are the right starting points.

What We Are Watching

The Signals That Will Shape the Next Few Months

Reading the market is not just describing today. It is watching the handful of things that tell us where it goes next. Here is where our attention is right now.

The Pipeline

Is the Spring Surge Cresting?

June closed the most homes of the year, but new listings and pending sales both eased from May. That is the normal shape of a summer peak, but it is the first month we have seen it, so July's new inventory is the number we are watching most closely.

Rates and the Fed

The Cut Conversation

The Federal Reserve held rates in June, then a soft June jobs report reopened the conversation about cuts later this year. We are not predicting. We are watching how buyers respond, because behavior around rates moves this market more than the rate itself.

Inventory Balance

Supply Meeting Demand

With roughly 3,982 homes available and demand still firm, the market is balanced enough to reward accurate pricing on both sides. If new listings keep easing while demand holds, that balance shifts, and we will say so plainly when it does.

Distress

Foreclosure Staying Low

June was the year's lowest month for foreclosure notices across our fifteen counties, and the national distress narrative describes metro Detroit, not here. We watch it every month so that if the picture ever changes, you hear it from us first, in context.

The Legacy Market Brief

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Everything on this page comes from the same engine that produces our weekly and monthly market briefs. Every week we read the fifteen-county footprint closing by closing, and every month we step back for the bigger picture. It reads in five minutes, it leads with numbers instead of adjectives, and there is no sales pitch at the end of it.

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