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Wayne County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Grosse Pointe Shores, MI

Grosse Pointe Shores sits in two counties and two school districts, and about one recent sale in four passed the conforming limit, so we start from the parcel and shop your loan across multiple wholesale lenders as one Michigan broker.

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Buying a home in Grosse Pointe Shores

Tucked along the western shore of Lake St. Clair, Grosse Pointe Shores is the smallest of the five Grosse Pointes, a city of about 2,800 residents that straddles the northeast corner of Wayne County and the southeast corner of Macomb County. Its identity is anchored by the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House at 1100 Lake Shore Road, an Albert Kahn-designed National Historic Landmark on Gaukler Point, and by the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club where Vernier Road meets the lake. Downtown Detroit is about 15 miles from the municipal building, roughly 25 minutes by car outside rush hour. The sections below cover what a Shores purchase involves, from two county tax rolls to flood zones on the lake side of Lake Shore Road.

By the numbers

Grosse Pointe Shores housing and mortgage snapshot

Values move. Treat these as orientation and let us pull current figures for the address you are considering.

$970,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+33%

Typical rise in taxable value the year after a home sells, 2026 Uncapping Study

1

Residential ZIP code: 48236

What financing looks like in Grosse Pointe Shores

Redfin counted a median Grosse Pointe Shores sale of about $738,000 for the three months ending September 2026, down about 12% on a year earlier, with homes going under contract in about 16 days against 49 a year before. Only nine homes sold in September, so a single lakefront sale can swing that figure. The city assessor's own 2026 sales study is a steadier guide: 84 arm's-length sales on the Wayne County side from April 2023 through March 2025, with a median near $685,000 and a range from $270,000 on Vernier Road to $2,950,000 on Lake Shore Road. 22 of those 84 sold for more than today's 2026 conforming limit of $832,750, and 10 sold for $1,000,000 or more.

Jumbo is decided by the loan amount, not the price, so a Shores home priced at or under $832,750 never needs one, and above it your down payment decides which side of the line the loan lands on. For a jumbo file we plan early for the larger reserves and the full appraisal these loans ask for, because floor areas in the assessor's list run from about 1,400 to 5,900 square feet and the comparables have to match the house. At the other end, 26 of the 84 sales came in at or under MSHDA's $566,355 price cap, so a first-time buyer within MSHDA's income limits can look at its MI 10K, $10,000 toward the down payment alongside a MI Home Loan, repaid when the home is sold or refinanced, the mortgage is paid off or you stop living there.

Two local details change the numbers. First, the lake: our sample of FEMA's flood map put about 11% of the city's land in a high-risk coastal zone, every point of it on the lake side of Lake Shore Road, and a federally backed mortgage on a house in that zone needs flood insurance for the life of the loan. Second, the county line: the north end of the city sits in Macomb County and South Lake Schools, where the 2025 homestead total was 43.58 mills against 52.43 on the Wayne County side, so we confirm the parcel number before we estimate escrow. Summer taxes here are payable without penalty through September 14, and the month you close changes how much tax money is collected at closing.

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One city, two tax bills: in 2025 a Grosse Pointe Shores homestead on the Wayne County side carried 52.43 mills, and one on the Macomb County side, in South Lake Schools, carried 43.58, about $885 less a year for every $100,000 of taxable value.

The market

The Grosse Pointe Shores housing market

Grosse Pointe Shores trades on scarcity. Recent figures differ by source: about $738,000 on Redfin for the three months ending September 2026, and about $685,000 in the city assessor's 2026 sales study of the Wayne County side. In that Redfin period homes went under contract in about 16 days, against 49 a year earlier. The city covers about 1.1 square miles of land, and Osius Park, with its 133-slip harbor, is open to residents only. With so few sales each month, one lakefront closing can move the median a long way.

Two counties

The Wayne County side and the Macomb County side

Grosse Pointe Shores is one city in two counties, and the line changes the school district, the tax roll and the millage. Land shares come from Census boundaries, millage is Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead total, and sales come from the city assessor's 2026 study.

Wayne County side: about 86% of the land

Everything south of the Ford House grounds, about 1,070 homes by Census count, in the Grosse Pointe Public School System at 52.43 homestead mills. The assessor's study lists 84 sales here with a median near $685,000.

Macomb County side: about 14%

Mostly the 87-acre Ford House grounds, plus about 41 homes on Lakeshore Drive, Fairlake Lane and Shorecrest Circle South, in South Lake Schools at 43.58 mills. It carried about 4% of the city's residential state equalized value in the 2026 Uncapping Study data.

Same city, same services

Both sides share one assessor, one water system, the same police and fire department and Osius Park. Only the county, the school district and the tax roll change, and the assessor posts a separate tax roll for each county.

North of Vernier Road

The Census block group north of Vernier counts about 440 homes, all detached, with a typical build year of 1961. The assessor's study shows medians near $550,000 to $602,000 across its street groups here.

South of Vernier Road

The block group south of Vernier counts about 630 homes, every occupied one owner-occupied, with a typical build year of 1962 and about 80 built before 1940. Interior street group medians here ran from about $710,000 to $1,095,000.

Where the ZIP code comes in

All of the city's land is in ZIP code 48236, but the Shores is only about 15% of that ZIP's land. A Grosse Pointe 48236 mailing address can just as easily be in the Woods, the Farms or Detroit.

Where to look

Grosse Pointe Shores neighborhoods

Lake Shore Road, lakefront and lake view

The road that runs the length of the city along Lake St. Clair, from the Grosse Pointe Farms line near 505 Lake Shore up past the municipal building at 795. The assessor sets these lots apart as lakefront and lake view, and the five Lake Shore Road sales in its 2026 study ran from $745,000 to $2,950,000, median about $1,750,000. Every high-risk flood point in our FEMA sample lay on the lake side of this road, at base flood elevations of 578 to 583 feet.

Osius Park, the harbor and Village Hall

The civic center at Vernier Road and Lake Shore Road: the municipal building, police, fire and court at 795 Lake Shore, the residents only George Osius Municipal Park across the road at 800, the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club next door, and Schroeder Fields behind the public works yard. The harbor was rebuilt in 2008 with 133 floating slips. The yacht club is the only commercial property in the city, by the city's own count.

Vernier Road frontage

The houses facing Vernier Road between Lake Shore Road and the Grosse Pointe Woods line, a group the assessor values on its own land table. Its four sales in the 2026 study were the lowest in the city, $270,000 to $405,000, on homes of about 1,400 to 2,100 square feet built from 1941 to 1953. Vernier is also the city's road to I-94.

Blairmoor Court, Putnam Place and the Edgewoods

North of Vernier off Lake Shore Road, on Blairmoor Court, Briarcliff Place, Moorland Drive, Putnam Place, North and South Edgewood Drive and Stillmeadow Lane. Mostly two-story houses from 1955 to 1966. Thirteen sales in the assessor's study had a median near $550,000, with most homes between about 2,100 and 3,000 square feet, and two South Edgewood houses sold for $590,000 and $738,500 in August 2026.

Duval Road and Crestwood Drive

The northern streets of the Wayne County side, on North and South Duval Road, Crestwood Drive and the north end of Ballantyne Road, just short of the Macomb County line. Eleven sales in the study ran from $480,000 to $815,000, median about $590,000, most built in the 1950s and 1960s. This Census block group, which covers everything north of Vernier, has an owner median near $714,000 with a wide margin.

Hampton, Roslyn and Hawthorne roads

The east ends of Hampton, Roslyn and Hawthorne roads, which continue west into Grosse Pointe Woods, plus Willow Tree Place and Regal Place. A Shores address on one of these roads can sit a block from a Woods address with a different tax bill. The study's fourteen sales ran from $425,000 to $880,000, median about $602,000, and include a 1922 house on Roslyn and a 1997 house on Willow Tree Place.

Lochmoor Boulevard, Renaud Road and Stratton Place

South of Vernier toward the lake, the Shores' share of Lochmoor Boulevard, Renaud Road, Sunningdale Drive and Stratton Place, streets that also run into the Woods. Some of the oldest houses in the city stand here, built as early as 1923, and the largest interior houses in the study, with a median floor area near 4,000 square feet. Seven sales had a median near $1,095,000 and ran from about $686,000 to $1,200,000.

Lake Shore Lane, Shoreham and Willison roads

The middle of the south side, on Lake Shore Lane, Shoreham Road, Willison Road, Fontana Lane, Greenbriar and Belle Meade, between Vernier Road and the south end of Lake Shore Lane. Nine sales in the study ran from $453,000 to $900,000, median about $710,000, mostly two-story houses near 3,000 square feet built from the 1950s to the early 1970s.

The Deeplands roads, Stonehurst and Webber Place

North and South Deeplands Road, Deeplands Court, Stonehurst Road, Webber Place, Fairford Road and Clairview Road, in the southern third of the city. Fifteen sales had a median near $800,000 and a range of $487,500 to $1,475,000. Most date from 1954 to 1978. The Census block group for the south side shows every occupied home owner-occupied and an owner median near $775,000, with a wide margin.

Woodland Shore Drive and Fordcroft Road

The south end along the Grosse Pointe Farms line, on Woodland Shore Drive, Fordcroft Road, the south end of Ballantyne Road and the short stretch of Cook Road inside the city. Six sales in the study had a median near $848,000, from $550,000 to $935,000, on houses built from 1955 to 1975.

The Macomb County side and the Ford House

North of the Wayne County line, the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and its 87-acre lakefront grounds take up most of the land, open to the public since 1978. Homes here sit on Lakeshore Drive, Fairlake Lane and Shorecrest Circle South, about 41 by Census count, assessed by the same city assessor but on Macomb County's tax roll and in South Lake Schools. The assessor's Macomb records show 1040 Lake Shore selling for $2,380,000 in 2023, 1034 for $630,000 in 2024 and 1001 for $735,000 in 2025.

Schools and commute

Schools

Two school districts serve Grosse Pointe Shores, split by the county line. The Wayne County side, about 86% of the city's land and about 1,070 of its 1,110 homes by Census count, is in the Grosse Pointe Public School System, and its nearest buildings sit just over the line in Grosse Pointe Woods: Grosse Pointe North High School at 707 Vernier Road about 0.6 miles from the municipal building, Ferry Elementary on Roslyn Road about 0.9 miles, and Parcells Middle School on Mack Avenue about 2.2 miles. The district does not take Schools of Choice students, and its boundary map confirms which buildings serve an address. The Macomb County side, about 14% of the land and roughly 41 homes, is in South Lake Schools, based in St. Clair Shores. The tax difference is real: Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead total was 52.43 mills on the Wayne side and 43.58 on the Macomb side, and for comparison 50.16 for South Lake homes inside St. Clair Shores.

Commute

Lake Shore Road is the city's spine, and Vernier Road is its way west: from the municipal building at 795 Lake Shore it is about 2.9 miles and 7 minutes to I-94 at exit 225, where Vernier meets 8 Mile Road. Outside rush hour, downtown Detroit is about 15 miles and 25 minutes, Henry Ford Hospital on West Grand Boulevard about 13 miles and 21 minutes, Henry Ford St. John Hospital on Moross Road about 3.6 miles and 9 minutes, and Detroit Metro Airport about 32 miles and 45 minutes. The Shores is the one Grosse Pointe that does not border Detroit, so every trip downtown passes through a neighbor first. The Census counts no workers here commuting by transit, about one in seven working from home, and a little over half of commuters getting to work in under 25 minutes (Census Reporter).

Before you write an offer

Grosse Pointe Shores details to settle early

Six Shores details that are easier to sort out before an offer is final.

  • The county and the parcel. Find the parcel number on the seller's tax bill: 74 means Wayne County and 18-14-35 means Macomb County. The assessor's page links the tax roll for each side, and the assessor takes calls at 313-881-6565.
  • The flood map. On the lake side of Lake Shore Road, check the house against FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and get a flood insurance quote before the inspection period ends. Interior streets west of the road fell outside the high-risk zone in our sample.
  • The water line and the final bill. Ask whether the service line material is known, since 532 of the city's 1,120 lines were not in the 2025 water quality report. The water billing page explains the quarterly bill and the final read.
  • The basement. The city describes its sewers as a wet sanitary system that takes in water from footing drains, sump pumps and cracked pipes, and after the June 26, 2021 storm owners had 45 days to file a damage claim. Ask the seller about past backups and ask your insurance agent about backup coverage.
  • Plans for the house. Roofs, fences and driveways need permits, and additions go to the Planning Commission. The Building Department page lists what needs review.
  • Park and harbor. If a boat well matters to you, note that wells go to bona fide residents, with longer residence breaking ties for new applicants, and that half the fee is due by December 15. The Parks and Harbor page has the contacts.

The Census figures on this page are 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey estimates for a city of under 3,000 people, and several margins are wide, so recent sales of similar houses from the assessor's list carry more weight when we look at a specific address.

Michigan property taxes

Grosse Pointe Shores property taxes after you buy

The year after a Michigan home sells, its taxable value resets to half of the assessor's market value, so the seller's tax bill is not your tax bill.

In the City of Grosse Pointe Shores, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 33% the year after a sale. On a $950,000 home, near the typical Grosse Pointe Shores value, that is roughly $6,210 more in first-year tax at the local median homestead millage. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Grosse Pointe Shores address? Our Michigan property tax calculator finds that property's published 2025 millage and works out the tax to plan for after you buy.

How Michigan taxable value works

In Samantha's words

In Michigan, don't just look at the current tax bill. Understand what could happen after ownership changes.

Tax bills, 2025

Shores millage next to its neighbors

Each figure is a 2025 total from Michigan Treasury's millage report. A mill is a dollar of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value.

Wayne side: 52.43 mills

About $5,243 a year for every $100,000 of taxable value. That is about $281 less per $100,000 than Grosse Pointe Woods at 55.24 and about $31 less than Grosse Pointe Farms at 52.74.

Macomb side: 43.58 mills

About $885 less a year per $100,000 than the Wayne side, and about $658 less than South Lake Schools homes in St. Clair Shores, which carried 50.16.

A rental or second home

Without the principal residence exemption the total rises to 66.91 mills on the Wayne side and 59.83 on the Macomb side, adding roughly $1,448 and $1,625 a year per $100,000 of taxable value.

The jump at sale

Our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 33% the year after a sale on the Wayne side and about 30% on the Macomb side, smaller jumps than in Grosse Pointe Woods, about 43%.

When the bills are due

Summer taxes are due July 1 and payable without penalty through September 14. Winter taxes are due December 1 and payable without penalty through February 15. Unpaid taxes go to the county treasurer after March 1.

After closing

The buyer files a Property Transfer Affidavit with the assessor within 45 days of the transfer, and a principal residence exemption affidavit keeps the bill at the homestead rate.

Local resources

Check Grosse Pointe Shores records yourself

The official offices behind the tax and school details on this page.

What our clients say

5.0 on Google across 128 reviews

★★★★★
As a first-time homebuyer in Ferndale, I was unsure of some things. Samantha was awesome. She was extremely helpful and made sure I understood every part of the process.
Peter RosaAugust 2026
★★★★★
Want to shout out Samantha for the expert guidance, made my first-time homebuyer experience seamless! It exceeded expectations and was a stress free process throughout. Grateful for all your help and loving my new home in Bloomfield Hills!
MichaelJuly 2026
★★★★★
Samantha Shelton is amazing!! She helped me get into my first home in Ferndale. The closing process was easy I was able to take care of everything without taking a day off of work. Being a first time homebuyer was stressful but she provided clear communication and true experience guidance throughout the entire process
Jeffery HolleyFebruary 2026
★★★★★
Can’t say enough great things about Samantha and her team at Align Lending! Highly recommend
Justin BartonJune 2024
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Individual experiences. Results vary.

Grosse Pointe Shores mortgage questions

If yours is not here, ask it on the call. There are no dumb questions.

What are homes in Grosse Pointe Shores selling for?

Redfin’s median for the three months ending September 2026 was about $738,000, down about 12% on a year earlier, but only nine homes sold in September, so one lakefront sale moves it a lot. The assessor’s 2026 sales study, 84 Wayne County side sales from April 2023 to March 2025, had a median near $685,000. Census owners put their homes at a median of $733,500 over 2020 to 2024. The typical value in this page’s snapshot, near $970,000, is an index that weights in the lakefront houses, which is why it runs higher than these sale medians.

The ZIP code will not tell you. Grosse Pointe Shores holds about 15% of the land in 48236, which it shares with Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms and a corner of Detroit. Look at the parcel number on the tax bill instead: on the assessor’s 2026 sales lists, Shores parcels on the Wayne County side start with 74, and those on the Macomb County side start with 18-14-35. The Census geocoder places 795 Lake Shore Rd in the Shores and 707 Vernier Rd, Grosse Pointe North High School, in the Woods.

It matters for the tax bill and the school district. About 86% of the city’s land is in Wayne County and the Grosse Pointe Public School System, and the rest, mostly the Ford House grounds plus about 41 homes on Lakeshore Drive, Fairlake Lane and Shorecrest Circle South, is in Macomb County and South Lake Schools. In 2025 the Wayne side’s homestead total was 52.43 mills and the Macomb side’s 43.58. The assessor posts separate tax rolls for the two sides, and unpaid taxes after March 1 go to that county’s treasurer.

Yes, along the lake. In our sample of FEMA’s flood map about 11% of the city’s land fell in a high-risk coastal zone, AE or the wave-action VE, with base flood elevations of 578 to 583 feet, and every one of those points was on the lake side of Lake Shore Road. None of the interior streets west of Lake Shore Road fell in one. A federally backed mortgage on a house in a high-risk zone needs flood insurance for the life of the loan, so we price it before you make an offer.

The city runs the mains and buys its water from the Great Lakes Water Authority. Bills come quarterly: since July 1, 2025 the city charges $7.16 per unit of water and $6.88 per unit of sewer, a unit being 748 gallons, plus a $125 operational fee and a $106 payment toward its 2022 water and sewer bond. The bill follows the property, and an unpaid balance can be added to the property taxes, so ask the seller to order a final read on 313-881-6565 before closing.

Possibly, though known lead lines are rare. Its 2025 water quality report lists 1,120 service lines: 1 lead, 586 non-lead and 532 of unknown material, and says the city met every monitoring and reporting requirement for 2025. If the home’s line is unknown, look at where the pipe enters the basement, and the Public Works Department, 313-886-0020, takes requests to test the water.

Once the household is on the city’s records. Osius Park at 800 Lake Shore Road is residents only, and passes go to adults and anyone eight or older living at the address, after the city checks residency with the title to the home, a rental agreement, a driver’s license or a voter registration. Boat wells in the 133-slip harbor go to bona fide residents, a first well carries a $150 initiation fee, half the season’s fee is due by December 15, and when two new residents want the same well, the one who has lived in the Shores longer gets it.

More review than many buyers expect. Beyond the usual building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, the city also requires permits to replace a roof, a fence or a driveway, and the Planning Commission reviews new construction, additions, accessory buildings over 120 square feet and new fences, walls or hedges in the front yard. If you plan to renovate, we can talk about whether a renovation loan fits and leave time in the plan for that review.

Communities near Grosse Pointe Shores

Wayne County overview

Guides for Grosse Pointe Shores buyers

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Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Figures on this page are market research for orientation, not a quote. This page is for educational purposes only. It is not a credit decision, a preapproval, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit.

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