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Muskegon County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Fruitport Township, MI

Most Fruitport Township homes carry a Muskegon or Fruitport mailing address and pay Fruitport Community Schools taxes, but the village, a Mona Shores slice and the Spring Lake shore each change the bill. Samantha compares offers from multiple wholesale lenders and checks the parcel before you make an offer.

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What should you know before buying a home in Fruitport Township?

Fruitport Township, a charter township in Muskegon County, is home to about 14,985 residents in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey (14,575 in the 2020 census) across about 30 square miles of land. Its ZIP codes also reach into Norton Shores and Spring Lake Township, so the parcel record, not the mailing address, shows which unit's tax rates apply. The Village of Fruitport lies inside the township. Downtown Muskegon is about 8 miles northwest in a straight line, and downtown Grand Rapids is about 27 miles southeast in a straight line.

By the numbers

What do the numbers say about Fruitport Township housing?

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

$227,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+51%

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

3

Residential ZIP codes: 49415, 49444, 49456

What does financing look like in Fruitport Township?

Redfin's count for the 49415 ZIP code, the Fruitport post office, put the median sale near $367,000 for July through September 2026, up about 5% from a year earlier, and the typical listing found a buyer in about 10 days against 20 a year earlier. The 49444 figure runs far lower, about $175,000 in Redfin's numbers for the same stretch, because that Muskegon ZIP code also counts Muskegon Heights and part of Norton Shores, even though most township homes carry it. A loan near either price stays well under $832,750, the 2026 conforming limit, and under Muskegon County's $541,287 FHA ceiling, which leaves conventional, FHA and VA loans available. Jumbo financing only matters when the loan amount itself goes past the conforming limit.

What moves a Fruitport Township payment is the parcel. A house inside the Village of Fruitport pays the village's 7 mills in addition to the township bill. Waterfront parcels on Spring Lake, plus inland lots holding a deeded right to reach it, are billed by the Lake Board each year. If FEMA maps the house inside a high-risk flood zone, any government-backed loan comes with mandatory flood insurance, so look up the exact address first. Off the township's water and sewer lines, plan for a well water test and a septic inspection during the inspection period.

The Census counts about 266 manufactured homes in the township. Fannie Mae will only buy a manufactured home loan when the house and the ground under it are titled together as real estate, which rules out a home sitting on leased land for that program. First-time buyers purchasing a home to live in can look at MSHDA's MI 10K, $10,000 of down payment help that comes due only at a sale, a refinance, a payoff or a move out. It is used with a MI Home Loan, capped at a $566,355 purchase price.

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About six in ten Fruitport Township homes carry a Muskegon 49444 mailing address, not Fruitport's own 49415, so the address alone never tells you which town taxes the house.

The market

What is the Fruitport Township housing market like?

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts the median owner-occupied home value in Fruitport Township near $226,800, across about 5,209 owner-occupied homes, with a median year built of 1976. The typical home value in Fruitport Township is near $227,000. Homeowners pay a median of about $2,528 a year in property taxes, an effective rate of about 1.11% of the median value.

Where to look

Which neighborhoods make up Fruitport Township?

Sheridan Road between Ellis and Hile

Houses off S Sheridan Road from E Ellis Road to E Hile Road, on Chloe Circle, Pratt Lane, August Avenue, Creekview Lane and Whispering Woods Drive. Every home the Census counts here is a detached house, nearly all owner occupied. Owners put the median value near $227,100, with a margin of about $32,000, and the typical home was built in 1976.

Airline Road by US-31 and Black Creek

The northwest corner along Airline Road toward the US-31 and I-96 interchange, where Black Creek winds through, with streets such as Valley View Drive, Filonow Drive, Swanson Court, Fern Hills Drive and Molly Boulevard. The owner median is near $221,800 and the typical home dates from 1967. A narrow slice along Airline Road at the west line near Hile Road sits in Mona Shores Public Schools.

Cress Creek and Virginia Drive

A small pocket of about 140 homes west of S Quarterline Road, on Tolson Drive, Bexley Road, Virginia Drive, Carolyn Street and Cress Creek Drive. All of them are detached houses. Owners' median value is near $228,600, give or take about $26,000, and the typical home went up in 1972.

Quarterline Road at I-96

Blocks between E Hile Road and I-96 around S Quarterline Road, including Euro Drive, Wilfred Street, Jensen Road and Fett Street, about 400 homes, all of them houses. The owner median sits near $196,100 and the typical year built is 1968. A few homes at the west edge fall in Mona Shores Public Schools, so check the parcel.

Broadway Avenue and Black Creek Road

The north end of the township along E Broadway Avenue, E Summit Avenue, Black Creek Road, S Mill Iron Road, Kruger Road and Trailside Drive, where it meets the City of Muskegon. About a third of its roughly 715 homes are manufactured homes, so the Census does not publish an owner median here. The typical home dates from 1966.

Heights Ravenna Road and Sheringer Road

Rural and suburban lots east of Sheridan Road along Heights Ravenna Road, S Dangl Road, Sheringer Road, White Road and Scotch Pine Drive, with Black Creek crossing on its way to Mona Lake. Owners put the median near $173,400, with a wide margin of about $51,000, and the typical home was built in 1963, the oldest median of any block group in the township.

Mount Garfield Road and Harvey Street

The southwest corner around E Mount Garfield Road, S Harvey Street and Farr Road, home to the Lakes Mall at 5600 S Harvey Street and subdivisions such as Eastwind Drive, Turning Leaf Way, Copper Sands Run and Hittle Creek Drive. The typical home here dates from 2004, the newest in the township, and owners' median is near $332,000. About 220 attached homes and some 140 apartment or condo units in larger buildings sit here, and mail comes through three post offices: Muskegon, Fruitport and Spring Lake.

East township along Pontaluna, Sternberg and Brooks roads

Nearly half the township's land, east of the village from E Sternberg Road south to E Pontaluna Road and out along S Brooks Road, Cloverville Road and S Hilton Park Road, with Norris Creek and Rhymer Creek running toward Spring Lake. About 740 homes are spread over nearly 14 square miles, and the owner median of about $264,600 carries a very wide margin of about $94,000. The typical home dates from 1978.

Spring Lake's west shore and Stahl Bayou

Streets on the west side of Spring Lake's north arm, including E Point Drive, W Point Drive, Lakita Drive, Quimby Road, Rennells Road and Beech Creek Drive, plus the shore of Stahl Bayou. Every home the Census counts here is owner occupied, the owner median is near $334,100 and the typical home dates from 1996. Part of it carries a Spring Lake 49456 address.

Village of Fruitport and the head of the lake

The village, one square mile at the head of Spring Lake around Pomona Park, Park Street, Bridge Street and the numbered avenues, plus township streets just outside it such as Willow Creek Drive, Dogwood Lane and McDonald Drive. In the 2020 count, 482 of the block group's 669 homes were inside the village. Owners put the median near $202,600 and the typical home dates from 1969.

Mailing address versus taxing unit

Fruitport Township by ZIP code

Four post offices deliver inside the township, and none of them follows its lines. Shares below are the township's 5,815 homes in the 2020 Census, placed in the Census ZIP code areas.

  • 49444, Muskegon: about 61%. Everything north of the Lakes Mall area, from the US-31 edge east past Sheridan Road and Heights Ravenna Road. The same ZIP code also covers Muskegon Heights and part of Norton Shores, so a Muskegon address can belong to any of them.
  • 49415, Fruitport: about 33%. The village, the land east of it toward Brooks Road, and most of the streets along Spring Lake's north arm.
  • 49456, Spring Lake: about 6%. A strip on the west side of Spring Lake and part of the Mount Garfield Road corner, next to Spring Lake Township in Ottawa County.
  • 49448, Nunica: under 1%. A handful of homes at the southeast corner.

The parcel number, not the ZIP code, decides the taxing unit, the school district and the assessor. Fruitport Township's online records show the owner, taxable value and tax history for a parcel.

Schools and commute

Schools

Fruitport Community Schools covers nearly the whole township: all but about 55 of the 5,815 homes counted in 2020, and all but about 2% of its land. Its offices are at 3255 E Pontaluna Road, and its buildings include Beach, Edgewood and Shettler elementary schools, Fruitport Middle School, Fruitport High School, an alternative high school and an Early Childhood Center. The district also reaches past the township into Sullivan, Crockery and Spring Lake townships. A narrow slice on the west line, along Airline Road near Hile Road, belongs to Mona Shores Public Schools. The district changes the tax bill a little: Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead total is 31.89 mills on the Fruitport schools side and 32.50 on the Mona Shores side, a gap of about $62 a year per $100,000 of taxable value that comes from school debt, 6.90 mills for Fruitport against 7.52 for Mona Shores.

Commute

I-96 starts at US-31 on the township's west edge and runs southeast across it, with exit 1C at Hile Road, exit 4 at Airline Road and exit 5 at Fruitport Road, which only serves westbound exits and eastbound entrances, so trucks use exit 4. US-31 runs along or near the west line toward Grand Haven and Muskegon. From the township hall at 5865 Airline Road, routing in light traffic puts the Lakes Mall about 3 miles away (4 minutes), Trinity Health Muskegon on E Sherman Boulevard about 6 miles (8), Muskegon County Airport about 5 miles (9), downtown Muskegon about 10 miles (15), downtown Grand Haven about 9 miles (14), the Village of Spring Lake about 7 miles (12), Grand Valley State University's Allendale campus about 24 miles (31) and downtown Grand Rapids about 31 miles (36). The City of Muskegon's annual financial report lists Mercy Health, now Trinity Health, first among the city's principal employers. Workers here average about 21 minutes each way by the Census count, and about 8% work from home.

Day to day

Living in Fruitport Township

Parks, errands, events, seasonal tasks and the kinds of homes you will see, from the township parks page, the township treasury page, the public works page, the Village of Fruitport, the Fruitport District Library and the other sources named in each card.

What is there to do around Fruitport Township?

The township runs three parks: Farr Park, Pine Park and the Sheringer Soccer Complex. Their fields host football, softball, baseball and soccer leagues, and the parks also have tennis courts, a basketball court, playgrounds and open space for walking a leashed dog. The township's Parks Commission, led by a director, oversees them, and a park usage application is posted on the township site for reserving a facility. Inside the neighboring Village of Fruitport, Pomona Park dates to 1871, and the village lists a boat launch ramp and a kayak launch.

Where do people run errands?

The Lakes Mall is at 5600 Harvey Street, and its directory lists 38 retailers, including JCPenney and Kay Jewelers. The Fruitport District Library is at 47 Park Street in the village, open Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Township Hall is at 5865 Airline Hwy, where the township posts permits, forms and water service start and stop requests. Books for Friends, a used bookstore, operates inside The Lakes Mall.

What happens here through the year?

The township calendar for 2026 lists Board Meetings on November 23, December 14 and December 28, Parks Commission Meetings on November 24 and December 22, and a Planning Commission Meeting on December 15, each at 6 p.m. Offices close for Thanksgiving on November 26 and Christmas Day on December 25. The library's calendar adds Thursday Chair Yoga and a World Lecture Series talk on November 12. The Village Council meets the third Monday of every month at 5 p.m. at the DPW building.

What does each season mean for a homeowner?

The township treasury bills summer property tax on July 1, due September 14, and winter property tax on December 1, due February 14, and says those dates are the same every year. Township water and sewer bills go out in three districts, Blue, Brown and Green, and payments must arrive on or before the 6th of the billing month to avoid a late fee. Public Works posts an Annual Water Quality Report for each year from 2020 to 2025, and township offices are open Monday to Thursday.

Which kind of home are you after?

Census ACS 2020 to 2024 counts 6,173 homes in the township: 5,435 detached houses, 242 attached homes, 266 mobile homes and 158 units in buildings of 5 or more. Detached houses are the large majority. A manufactured home is judged under its own Fannie Mae eligibility rules, a new build's first summer tax bill comes July 1 once it is on the roll, and a home on township water and sewer receives the district bills described in the seasons card.

Michigan property taxes

What will my property taxes be after I buy in Fruitport Township?

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 Fruitport Township, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 51% the year after a sale. On a $225,000 home, near the typical Fruitport Township value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $1,220 at the Fruitport schools rate most homes here pay. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Fruitport Township 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

County alone does not tell you much. We would never say you are in a particular county so here are your taxes. It does not work like that. We need the actual property.

Tax rates by location

2025 millage across Fruitport Township

Each figure is Michigan Treasury's 2025 total for an owner-occupied home, broken down with Muskegon County's 2025 apportionment report. A mill equals $1 per $1,000 of taxable value, so 10 mills on a $100,000 taxable value comes to $1,000 a year.

Township, Fruitport schools: 31.89 mills

Most of the township. It includes 4.66 township mills (0.98 allocated and 3.68 voted), the Fruitport District Library's 0.74 and Fruitport Community Schools' 6.90 for debt.

Village of Fruitport: 38.89 mills

The same school and township levies plus the village's own 7 mills. On $100,000 of taxable value, the village adds about $700 a year.

Township, Mona Shores schools: 32.50 mills

The slice along Airline Road at the west line. Mona Shores levies 7.52 mills for school debt against Fruitport's 6.90.

Not your main home: add 18 mills

A second home or rental has no principal residence exemption, so the 18-mill school operating tax applies too: 49.89 mills outside the village and 56.89 inside.

Two bills a year

Summer taxes are billed July 1 and due September 14. Winter taxes are billed December 1 and due February 14.

Spring Lake lots: one more line

Parcels in the Lake Board's district pay a yearly special assessment beyond the millage. The 2024 to 2033 schedule sets $600 a year for a built-on waterfront parcel.

Ahead of an offer

Things to settle on a Fruitport Township house

Each of these is quicker to answer during the inspection period than after closing.

  • Township, village or a neighbor. A Muskegon or Spring Lake address can belong to Norton Shores, the City of Muskegon or Spring Lake Township. Confirm the taxing unit on the parcel record, and whether the lot sits inside the Village of Fruitport, which has its own council, public works and permits.
  • Who answers assessing questions. The township assessing page lists the property transfer affidavit and principal residence exemption forms and the assessing contacts, and Muskegon County Equalization does the assessing under contract.
  • Utilities. The township's public works page handles starting water service and posts the yearly water quality reports. Ask the seller for recent utility bills, and on a well or septic system put a water test and a septic inspection in the plan.
  • The lake and the creeks. On Spring Lake, ask whether the parcel is in the Spring Lake Lake Board special assessment district. Look the address up on FEMA's flood map. The township has also adopted a floodplain management ordinance.
  • Condo and association rules. For one of the attached homes in the Mount Garfield Road corner, read the master deed, bylaws and budget, and ask about dues and any special assessments.
  • Rental plans. The township's ordinance list includes rental unit registration, Ordinances 803 and 805, along with the water and sewer ordinances.

Local resources

Check Fruitport Township records yourself

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

What our clients say

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Fruitport Township mortgage questions

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

My address says Muskegon 49444. Is the house in the City of Muskegon?

Often not. By the Census ZIP code areas, about 61% of Fruitport Township’s homes sit in the 49444 ZIP code, about 33% in Fruitport’s 49415 and about 6% in Spring Lake’s 49456, with a few in Nunica’s 49448. The Census geocoder places 4500 S Sheridan Road, Muskegon 49444, and 5600 S Harvey Street, Muskegon 49444, in Fruitport Township. The parcel record shows the taxing unit, and that sets the bill.

About 7 mills more. The village levied 7.0 mills in 2025 beyond the township, county and school levies, so Michigan Treasury’s homestead total is 38.89 mills in the village against 31.89 in the township outside it, both in Fruitport Community Schools. That works out to about $700 a year for every $100,000 of taxable value. Village homes also deal with the village’s own council, public works, building permits and zoning.

Fruitport Community Schools for almost every home: all but about 55 of the 5,815 counted in 2020. A slice along Airline Road at the west line near Hile Road is in Mona Shores Public Schools, where the 2025 homestead total is 32.50 mills against 31.89. Mona Shores voters also passed a 0.95-mill bond proposal in May 2025.

Muskegon County Equalization assesses the township under a contract that runs from November 1, 2025 to October 31, 2030, and the township’s assessing office answers at 231-865-3151, extension 2. File the principal residence exemption affidavit with the township after you close. Summer taxes are billed July 1 and due September 14, winter taxes billed December 1 and due February 14.

Ask the seller for recent bills or check the parcel’s utility record. Township water is Lake Michigan water treated at the City of Muskegon’s filtration plant, which also serves Norton Shores, Roosevelt Park and others. Water and sewer bills come every three months in three billing districts and are due by the 6th, with a 10% late fee after that. The utilities office answers at 231-865-3158. A house off the lines needs a well water test and a septic inspection in the inspection plan.

Waterfront parcels, and inland lots with a deeded right to reach the lake, fall in the Spring Lake Lake Board’s special assessment district. The 2024 to 2033 schedule charges a waterfront parcel with a house one full unit, $600 a year, and a built-on back lot or a vacant waterfront parcel half a unit, $300. Fruitport Charter Township and the Village of Fruitport each have a seat on the board. Check FEMA’s flood map for the address too, because a high-risk zone means a required flood policy with a federally backed loan.

The township has a rental unit registration ordinance, Ordinance 803, amended by Ordinance 805. Ask the township office what registration and inspection it requires before you count on rental income, and for a village address ask the village as well.

Redfin’s 49415 median for the three months ending September 2026 was about $367,000, up about 5% from a year before, and the usual listing took about 10 days to sell. The Census figure of $226,800 measures something else: what owners said their homes were worth in surveys from 2020 to 2024. Block group medians run from about $173,000 near Heights Ravenna Road to about $334,000 on Spring Lake’s west shore.

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Sources

Where do the Fruitport Township figures on this page come from?

29 sources behind the Fruitport Township figures above, every link checked November 2026.

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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