Macomb County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Bruce Township, MI

Bruce Township covers the north half of the Village of Romeo and the farmland, golf courses and subdivisions that run from 32 Mile Road up to the Lapeer County line, all with a Romeo 48065 mailing address. Samantha confirms the tax unit and school district on the parcel first, then shops the loan across multiple wholesale lenders.

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Buying a home in Bruce Township

Bruce Township, in Macomb County, is home to about 9,747 residents in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey (9,324 in the 2020 census) across about 37 square miles of land. Its 48065 ZIP code also covers the Washington Township half of the Village of Romeo, so the parcel record, not the mailing address, shows which unit's tax rates apply. Part of the Village of Romeo lies inside the township. Downtown Detroit is about 36 miles south in a straight line.

By the numbers

Bruce Township housing and mortgage snapshot

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

$389,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+40%

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

1

Residential ZIP code: 48065

What financing looks like in Bruce Township

The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey put the middle owner-occupied home in Bruce Township at about $388,600, with one owned home in four below roughly $232,500 and one in four above roughly $520,400. Redfin's median sale in the 48065 ZIP code for the three months ending September 2026 was about $435,000, with homes typically going under contract in about 32 days and selling close to their list price. Bruce Township holds about four in five of that ZIP code's homes and the south half of the Village of Romeo holds the rest, so the ZIP figure leans on the township. At those prices a typical purchase sits below the 2026 FHA ceiling of $541,287 and well below the $832,750 conforming line, so conventional, FHA and VA financing are all realistic. A jumbo loan only enters the picture when the loan amount itself goes past that conforming line.

What kind of home it is matters as much as the price. About 400 homes in the township are manufactured homes, most of them in the Springbrook Estates community on Van Dyke north of the village. A manufactured home on a rented site in a community is usually financed as personal property, a different loan from a house on land you own, so tell Samantha which one you are looking at before you make an offer. Inside the village, about one home in four on the Bruce Township side was built before 1940, which can bring older wiring, plumbing or a foundation into the inspection and the appraisal. MSHDA's MI 10K offers up to $10,000 toward the down payment for a qualifying first-time buyer, paired with a MI Home Loan, on homes priced up to $566,355.

Much of the township sits beyond the sewer lines. The township's building department says Bruce Township has a limited area served by sanitary sewers, and the Macomb County Health Department permits wells and septic systems. Since August 1, 2002, a county regulation has required any home on a well or septic system to have those systems evaluated before the sale closes, with the report filed with the health department at least five days before closing. The closing waits on that report, so order it early. For flood, look the address up on FEMA's flood map. If the house sits in a high-risk zone, the lender requires flood insurance.

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The school district decides when the big tax bill arrives. Bruce Township collects Romeo Community Schools' levy entirely on the July summer bill, Almont Community Schools' entirely on the December winter bill, and Armada Area Schools' half on each, so two neighbours with similar homes can see very different summer and winter bills.

The market

The Bruce Township housing market

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts the median owner-occupied home value in Bruce Township near $388,600, across about 3,522 owner-occupied homes, with a median year built of 1987. The typical home value in Bruce Township is near $389,000. Homeowners pay a median of about $4,084 a year in property taxes, an effective rate of about 1.05% of the median value.

One ZIP code, two townships

How the Romeo 48065 ZIP code divides

Every home in Bruce Township has a Romeo 48065 address, but that ZIP code also reaches into Washington Township. Shares come from 2020 Census block counts inside the Census ZIP code boundary.

Bruce Township outside the village: about 62%

About 2,740 homes on nearly all of the township's 37 square miles. Treasury's 2025 homestead total with Romeo schools was 31.30 mills, 27.22 with Almont and 34.06 with Armada.

Romeo village, Bruce side: about 18%

About 790 homes north of St. Clair Street. Bruce Township assesses them and the village adds its own levy, for a 2025 homestead total of 45.65 mills.

Romeo village, Washington side: about 20%

About 870 homes south of St. Clair Street, in Washington Township and the same Romeo schools. A different assessor and treasurer handle these parcels.

Where to look

Bruce Township neighborhoods

Romeo village, north of St. Clair Street

The half of the Village of Romeo above St. Clair Street, which is 32 Mile Road, with Hollister, Newberry, Church and Morton streets, Romeo Village Park and Romeo Trailside Park. About 790 homes in the 2020 Census, roughly two in three detached houses and close to a quarter attached homes, and about one in four built before 1940. Owner values near $257,200, typical year built 1962. Bruce Township assesses it, but the village levy puts its 2025 homestead total at 45.65 mills.

Bruce Township Park, McVicar Meadows and Camelot

Just north of the village and east of Van Dyke, between Gates Street and 33 Mile Road along Mellen and McVicar roads: McVicar Meadows, Whispering Pines, Greenland, Camelot, Park Place, Bruce Orchards and Deer Park Condos, next to Bruce Township Park and the Township Hall. About 290 homes, all detached and owner-occupied in the Census estimate, typically from 1992, with owner values near $369,700.

Springbrook Estates and Twin Brooks

The Van Dyke and Old M-53 corridor north of the village, from about 33 Mile Road to 34 Mile Road. Most of its roughly 370 homes are manufactured homes in the Springbrook Estates community, with Twin Brooks and The Timbers of Bruce alongside. Typical year built 1998. The Census owner median here, about $19,400, counts mostly manufactured homes on community sites, not houses on owned land, so it says little about a house in Twin Brooks.

Orchard Hills, Chase Farms and Covered Bridge Farms

West of the village, from 32 Mile Road north to about 34 Mile Road along West Gates Street and Romeo Orchard Drive, with Orchard Hills, Hillside Estates, Hawthorne Ridge Estates, Pond Creek Estates, Char-lene Acres and Romeo Middle School. East Pond Creek winds through, and Orchard Hills Park sits on 33 Mile west of Van Dyke. About 520 homes, nearly all detached and owner-occupied, typical year 1980, owner values near $435,600.

Bruce Hills, Simpson Park and East Mill Lake

The southwest corner, from 32 Mile Road to about 34 Mile Road and from Orchard Hills west to the Oakland County line, around Bruce Hills Golf Course, Simpson Park, East Mill Lake, Nowlan Lake, Estate Mill Pond, Cedar View, Mountain Creek and the East Pond Preserve, with Stony Creek near the county line. About 530 homes, all detached and owner-occupied in the estimate, typical year 1987. Owner values near $498,100 are the highest block group median in the township, with a margin near $88,000.

Windmill Farms, Indian Hills and Country Manor

The northwest quarter, about nine square miles from the Ford proving ground north to the Lapeer County line, with Windmill Farms, Indian Hills Estates, San Marino, Country Manor, Streeter Lake, Heather Hills Golf Course and Three Oaks Golf Center. About 480 homes, typically from 1992, owner values near $461,900. Roughly 180 homes at the north end, about from 36 Mile Road up, are in Almont Community Schools.

Bruce Meadows, Elk Horn Estates and The Sanctuary

The northeast side above about 35 Mile Road out to the Armada Township line, with Bruce Meadows, Elk Horn Estates and The Sanctuary on larger lots. About 310 homes. Roughly 100 at the north end are in Almont Community Schools and about 20 on the east edge in Armada Area Schools, the only Armada homes in the township. Its block group's owner median, about $388,100, carries a margin near $170,000, so treat it loosely.

Sorrel Woods, Caldwell Meadows and Mallard Creek

The east side from the village edge north toward 35 Mile Road, where the North Branch of the Clinton River runs past Sorrel Woods, Clover Field Village, Caldwell Meadows, Mallard Creek Estates and Crystal Diamonds Park. About 180 homes, all in Romeo Community Schools. It shares a block group with Bruce Meadows to the north: detached, owner-occupied homes with a typical year of 1991.

Ford's Michigan Proving Ground and Tamarack Hills

The west central part of the township, where Ford's proving ground and test track covers more than six square miles around Fisher Lake and Hidden Lake. Only about 50 homes sit in this block group, along Tamarack Hills, Sandi Lane and Tamarack Lane, too few for the Census to publish an owner median.

Schools and commute

Schools

By 2020 Census block counts within the Census map of school districts, about 91% of Bruce Township's homes, on about three quarters of its land, are in Romeo Community Schools. Almont Community Schools takes about 280 homes across the northern edge, roughly from 36 Mile Road to the Lapeer County line, on about a fifth of the land, and Armada Area Schools about 20 homes on the east edge. Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead totals for the township were 31.30 mills with Romeo schools, 27.22 with Almont and 34.06 with Armada, so an Almont parcel pays about $408 a year less on each $100,000 of taxable value than a Romeo parcel. Inside the Village of Romeo the total was 45.65 mills. The township treasurer also notes that each district bills on a different schedule, which changes how escrow is collected. The district line follows the parcel, not the 48065 mailing address.

Commute

Van Dyke (M-53) and the M-53 bypass carry most traffic south toward Utica, Sterling Heights and Warren, 32 Mile Road runs east and west along the township's south line, and I-69, a few miles north of the township, is the east and west route toward Flint and Port Huron. From the Township Hall on East Gates Street, outside rush hour, Utica is about 19 minutes away, Rochester and Sterling Heights about 24, Imlay City about 26, Mount Clemens about 32, Auburn Hills about 33 and Troy about 34, Lapeer about 40, downtown Detroit about 54 minutes and 40 miles, and Detroit Metro Airport about an hour and 15 minutes. The Census puts the average one-way commute near 32 minutes, with nearly six in ten commuters on the road 30 minutes or more and about one worker in eight working from home (Census Reporter). The largest single land use in the township is Ford's Michigan Proving Ground, and the tax bill carries levies for SMART buses and the STAR senior transportation service.

Before closing

Things to settle on a Bruce Township house

Most of these come up on a rural Macomb County closing and few of them show on a listing sheet.

The well and septic evaluation. Macomb County requires one before closing on any home with a well or septic system, filed at least five days ahead. The seller is responsible for having it done, so agree in the purchase agreement on who orders it and when. The health department's property transfer page lists registered evaluators.
Which unit and district. A Romeo 48065 address can be Bruce Township, the village's Bruce side or the village's Washington Township side, in one of three school districts. Bruce Township assessing answers at 586-752-4585, extension 200, and parcel records are on the township's public records page.
The utility final bill. If the township bills water or sewer for the house, call 586-752-4585, extension 110, early so the final bill can be prorated at closing.
Heating fuel. Ask whether the street has natural gas or the house runs on propane, and get a year of fuel bills.
The two affidavits. File the property transfer affidavit with the township assessor within 45 days of closing, and claim the principal residence exemption so the roughly 18 school operating mills come off your bill.
The flood map. Look the address up on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. A high-risk zone means the lender requires flood insurance.

Michigan property taxes

Bruce Township 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 Bruce Township, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 40% the year after a sale. On a $400,000 home, near the typical Bruce Township value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $1,800 at the Romeo schools rate most homes here pay. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Bruce 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

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

Treasury, 2025

What a Bruce Township tax bill carries

Homestead totals from Michigan Treasury for 2025, in mills: one mill is $1 a year for each $1,000 of taxable value. The bill timing comes from the township treasurer.

Romeo schools: 31.30

About nine homes in ten. Roughly $3,130 a year on each $100,000 of taxable value, with the school levy on the summer bill.

Almont schools: 27.22

About 280 homes on the north edge. About $408 a year less per $100,000 than Romeo, and the school levy comes on the winter bill.

Armada schools: 34.06

About 20 homes on the east edge. About $275 a year more per $100,000 than Romeo, split evenly between the two bills.

Village of Romeo: 45.65

The Bruce Township side of the village with Romeo schools, the village levy included. More than 14 mills above the rest of the township's Romeo district.

Local resources

Check Bruce Township records yourself

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

Bruce Township Assessing, for parcel records and current taxable value
Romeo Community Schools, for district boundaries and enrollment
Almont Community Schools, for district boundaries and enrollment
Armada Area Schools, for district boundaries and enrollment
Macomb County Equalization Department, for county property tax records
Macomb County Health Department property transfer evaluations, for county property tax records

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Bruce Township mortgage questions

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

What are Bruce Township homes selling for?

Sale figures come by ZIP code, and Bruce Township holds about four in five of the homes in 48065. Redfin’s median sale there for the three months ending September 2026 was about $435,000, with a typical 32 days to an accepted offer. The Census owner median for the township itself was about $388,600 over 2020 to 2024. By block group it ran from about $257,200 on the village’s north side to about $498,100 around Bruce Hills, though several areas carry wide margins.

The listing says Romeo. Is the house in Bruce Township?

Not always. Every Bruce Township home uses the Romeo 48065 address, and so does the south half of the Village of Romeo, which is in Washington Township. The Census geocoder places the Township Hall at 223 E Gates St in Bruce Township outside the village, 133 E Hollister St in the village on the Bruce Township side, and 121 W St Clair St in the village on the Washington Township side. By 2020 Census counts, about 62% of 48065 homes are in the township outside the village, about 18% in the village’s Bruce side and about 20% in its Washington side. Bruce Township’s assessor answers at 586-752-4585, extension 200.

Which school district taxes a Bruce Township parcel?

The parcel record says, and the mailing address does not. About 91% of homes are in Romeo Community Schools, about 280 on the north edge in Almont Community Schools and about 20 on the east edge in Armada Area Schools. In 2025 the Treasury homestead totals were 31.30, 27.22 and 34.06 mills, and 45.65 inside the village. A home without the principal residence exemption pays about 18 more mills, 49.30 with Romeo schools.

Does a Bruce Township house need a well and septic inspection to sell?

Yes, when it has either one. A Macomb County Health Department regulation in effect since August 1, 2002 requires a well and septic evaluation before closing on any property that relies on them, done by the county or a registered private evaluator. The report must reach the health department at least five days before closing and stays valid for one year. The septic tank is pumped with the evaluator on site, and a repair or a failed water sample can push the closing date, so start it soon after the purchase agreement. The health department answers at 586-469-5236.

Is the house on public water and sewer?

Ask for the utility account before you assume. The township’s building department says only a limited area is served by sanitary sewers, and many homes rely on a well and septic system. Where the township bills water and sewer, it bills monthly and asks to hear about a closing as early as possible so it can prorate the final bill: call utility billing at 586-752-4585, extension 110. Balances six months or more behind are added to the winter tax bill, which is why your title company checks them.

When are Bruce Township taxes due, and how does escrow handle them?

Summer bills are mailed at the end of June and due September 14, and winter bills are mailed at the end of November and due February 28. After that date unpaid taxes go to the Macomb County Treasurer with a 4% fee and monthly interest. Because Romeo schools bill in summer, Almont schools in winter and Armada schools half and half, the size of each bill depends on the district, and your lender sets the escrow deposit from the bills for that parcel.

Does every street in Bruce Township have natural gas?

No. The township publishes a map of the streets that have natural gas, and lists SEMCO and Consumers Energy as gas suppliers. In the Census estimate about 87% of occupied homes heat with utility gas and about one in 20 uses propane or another tank gas. On a rural lot, ask for the heating fuel and a year of bills, and note any propane tank in the inspection.

Could the home be in a flood zone?

Check the address itself. The North Branch of the Clinton River, East Pond Creek and Stony Creek all cross the township, and lakes such as East Mill Lake and Fisher Lake sit within it. Look the property up on FEMA’s flood map, where Macomb County’s panels for the township are dated September 29, 2006. If the house is in a high-risk zone, the lender requires flood insurance, and a quote belongs in the budget before you commit.

Talk with a local mortgage expert

Tell Samantha what you are trying to do in Bruce Township and she will tell you what actually matters for your situation, including whether the timing is right.

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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.