WHERE DETROIT'S WEALTHY ARE ACTUALLY BUYING IN 2025 (The Data Will Surprise You)
Most people assume they know where the money is moving in Detroit's luxury market right now. The data says otherwise.
I pulled every luxury sale over $750,000 across Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb County — over 4,500 transactions — and the suburb everyone assumes is the safest bet near Detroit? More than 60% of luxury listings there failed to sell.
To make things easier, I broke the data into three tiers: Entry Luxury ($750K–$1.2M), Core Luxury ($1.2M–$2.5M), and Ultra Luxury (anything over $2.5M). Here's what I found in each.
TIER 1: ENTRY LUXURY — $750,000 to $1,200,000
This is where most move-up buyers across the Detroit suburbs land — and this tier deserves the most attention right now.
On the surface, the numbers look fine. Average sale price is around $893,000. Sales volume is steady. But out of every 10 homes listed in this price range, only about 7 actually sold. That means 1,250 sellers went through the entire process — listing, showings, price reductions, waiting — and walked away with nothing.
And this market is not struggling equally across the tri-county area. Not even close.
- Oakland County: 76% success rate
- Wayne County: 70% success rate
- Macomb County: 57% success rate
In Macomb County at this price point, nearly half of all homes that listed failed to sell.
The winners:
- Franklin Village: 90% success rate
- Huntington Woods: 86%
- Troy: 86%
- Northville Township: 84%
- Birmingham: 83%
The losers:
- Shelby Township: 54% (130 sold, 112 failed)
- Harrison Township: 49%
- Macomb Township: 48%
Same price range. Completely different outcome depending on the zip code. Buyers at this level are choosing established, walkable, well-located suburbs over outer-ring development areas. They're not just chasing square footage — they want the lifestyle that comes with the address.
Active right now: 335 homes listed across the tri-county area, averaging 144 days on market. Shelby Township alone has 36 active listings. If you're a buyer in the right suburbs, you have real negotiating power.
View Entry Luxury Homes Near Detroit →
TIER 2: CORE LUXURY — $1,200,000 to $2,500,000
This is what I'd call the Goldilocks market. Not too hot, not too cold.
1,128 homes sold at an average price of $1,581,000 — essentially flat year over year. Average days on market: 62. The right homes in the right locations are moving in about two months.
Here's where this tier really separates from Entry Luxury: Macomb County barely shows up. 58 sales. 45% success rate. That market essentially doesn't exist above $1.2 million. This is Oakland and Wayne County territory.
Top suburbs by sales volume:
- Birmingham: 239 sales (more than double the next suburb)
- Bloomfield Township: 146
- Bloomfield Hills: 87
- Northville Township: 51
Buyers in this range know exactly what they want. They're not browsing — they're deciding. When the right property comes to market at the right price, it moves.
Active right now: 224 homes, averaging 172 days on market. Birmingham has 32 active listings. Oakland Township has 15. A Birmingham home and a Bloomfield Township home at the same price are genuinely different investment decisions right now. The suburb matters more than ever.
View Core Luxury Homes Near Detroit →
TIER 3: ULTRA LUXURY — $2,500,000+
While entry luxury is struggling in the outer suburbs and core luxury is stabilizing, ultra luxury near Detroit actually got stronger in 2025.
- 2024: 93 sold · $3.49M avg · 95 days avg DOM
- 2025: 75 sold · $3.62M avg · 51 days avg DOM
Faster sales. Higher prices. That's not a struggling market — that's a market getting more efficient at the top.
For years, if you asked any agent near Detroit where ultra luxury lived, they'd say Bloomfield Township. That's where the old money was. The big estates. The presumed prestige.
Here's what the data actually says: Bloomfield Township has only a 38% success rate at the $2.5M+ tier. More homes failed to sell than sold.
Meanwhile, the two most expensive sales in all of tri-county Metro Detroit were both in Orchard Lake Village — with an average sale price of $4.87 million, the highest of any city in the entire dataset.
Top sales near Detroit — 2024 to 2026:
- $9,500,000 — Orchard Lake Village · 4790 Dow Ridge Road · 56 days
- $8,675,000 — Orchard Lake Village · 3251 W Shore Drive · 163 days
- $7,200,000 — Bloomfield Hills · 600 Chase Lane · 69 days
- $7,000,000 — Bloomfield Township · 5941 Miller Way E · Pre-market
- $6,600,000 — Bloomfield Hills · 703 Lone Pine Hill · Pre-market
The wealthiest buyers near Detroit aren't buying the biggest house in the newest subdivision. They want character, history, water, and a neighborhood that cannot be replicated. You can't build another Orchard Lake Village.
Active right now: 95 ultra luxury homes listed, averaging 244 days on market. Some have been sitting for 300, 400, even 700 days. If you're a serious buyer in this tier, you have more leverage than this market has seen in years.
View Ultra Luxury Homes Near Detroit →
THE PATTERN ACROSS ALL THREE TIERS
Whether you're looking at $800K, $1.5M, or $5M, the same pattern shows up every time:
- Oakland County wins over Macomb — consistently, across every price tier, by a wide margin
- Established communities beat outer-ring suburbs — Franklin Village over Macomb Township, Orchard Lake over Bloomfield Township
- Waterfront and walkable beat square footage alone — buyers want the lifestyle, not just the house
If someone tells you the luxury market near Detroit is struggling — ask them which tier. The answer is completely different depending on whether you're talking about $800K, $1.5M, or $5M.
Download the free market report with every number, every suburb, and all three tiers: [link]
Paul Wolfert · WSJ Top 100 Agent · Century 21 Curran & Oberski · 13 years · 500+ families across Oakland, Wayne & Macomb County
Just paste that straight into your post editor. The bracketed links will become hyperlinks once you format them in the editor. The only thing to add is the PDF report link where it says [link] at the bottom.
