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Wayne County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Lincoln Park, MI

Lincoln Park's city limits, its one ZIP code and its school district cover the same ground, so Samantha starts from the house: its age, the city's exterior inspection before a sale, what the FEMA flood map shows for the lot and the water bill, and compares your loan across multiple wholesale lenders.

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Buying a home in Lincoln Park

Tucked into the heart of Downriver Wayne County, Lincoln Park is a built-out 1920s-to-1940s bedroom community of roughly 38,000 residents that has never lost its blue-collar, automotive-rooted character. Generations here commuted to the steel mills and the nearby Ford River Rouge complex in Dearborn, and that legacy still shapes a job base led by manufacturing, retail, and health care. The Fort Street corridor anchors local small businesses and dining, while Council Point Park, the 35-acre green space along the Ecorse River where Chief Pontiac met tribal leaders in 1763, and the iconic Sears water tower at Lincoln Park Shopping Plaza give the city its sense of place. With a median household income near $58,600, Lincoln Park stays remarkably affordable for a community this close to downtown Detroit, drawing first-time buyers and commuters alike.

By the numbers

Lincoln Park housing and mortgage snapshot

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

$155,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+74%

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

1.25%

Property tax current owners pay, as a share of value. A buyer's bill can reset higher the year after a sale

1

Residential ZIP code: 48146

What financing looks like in Lincoln Park

Redfin's figures for the three months ending September 2026 put Lincoln Park's median sale near $170,000, about 3% above a year before, and show homes typically going under contract in 18 days, with about 54% selling above list price. The assessor's sales file, 727 sales from January 2022 through December 2024, puts the median at $152,000 and shows it rising each year, from $142,250 in 2022 to $165,000 in 2024. At these prices loan size rarely limits anyone: the 2026 conforming limit is $832,750 and FHA's limit in Wayne County is $541,287. MSHDA's MI Home Loan allows a price up to $566,355. First-time buyers who qualify can pair that loan with the MI 10K, $10,000 of down payment help that is paid back when the home is sold, refinanced or paid off, or stops being your residence, and veterans who are eligible can look at VA. With offers often going over list, the appraisal matters as much as the loan amount.

The house itself shapes more Lincoln Park loans than the price does. About three in four homes here were built before 1960, so the inspection report decides a lot: an FHA 203(k) or another renovation loan can roll repairs into the mortgage when the list is long. The city adds its own step. Every residential sale needs an exterior inspection and a certificate of approval, and if the seller has not finished the repairs, the buyer can sign an as-is affidavit and take them on within six months, which belongs in the price and the closing date. We also check FEMA's flood map for the exact lot before you write the offer, because in a high-risk zone a federally backed mortgage requires flood insurance.

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The 48146 ZIP code, the City of Lincoln Park and the Lincoln Park Public Schools district cover the same ground, so one 2025 homestead total, 52.76 mills, applies to every owner-occupied Lincoln Park house. Two houses at the same price can still be taxed very differently, because the buyer's taxable value starts over the year after a sale.

The market

The Lincoln Park housing market

Lincoln Park's median home price sits around $155,000 as of mid-2026, with recent sale medians closer to $158,000. Price per square foot runs about $146. Redfin's figures for the three months ending September 2026 have homes going under contract in about 18 days. Buyers come for its prices and its quick reach to Detroit jobs.

The houses

What Lincoln Park houses look like

Lincoln Park grew in two waves, after Ford's five-dollar day and after World War II, and the houses show it. Figures come from Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 and the city assessor's 727 sales from 2022 to 2024.

Mostly 1940s and 1950s

About 41% of the city's homes were built in the 1950s, another 19% in the 1940s and 14% before 1940, so about three in four predate 1960. Fewer than 3% date from 2000 or later, so new construction is rare.

One story or a story and a half

Of the 727 sales, 320 were one-story houses and 317 were story-and-a-half houses, with two-story homes only about 1 in 17. The middle half of the houses that sold were between about 912 and 1,188 square feet. Basements, dormers and older wiring are worth a close look on houses this age.

Prices by year and by area

The sales median rose from $142,250 in 2022 to $155,000 in 2023 and $165,000 in 2024, and Redfin shows about $170,000 for July to September 2026. North-side tracts sold near $138,000 to $140,000, while the area south of Ford Park ran near $180,000.

Owners and renters

Census estimates count about 10,170 owner and 4,600 renter households, roughly 7 owners in 10. The share is highest south of Ford Park, about 9 in 10, and lowest on the northeast side between Fort Street and the Ecorse River, where renters outnumber owners.

Where to look

Lincoln Park neighborhoods

Charter, Council and Montie streets near Quandt Park

The north end around Dix Highway and Outer Drive, where Quandt Park at Dix and Euclid has lighted ball diamonds and a pavilion and Ford Motor Park sits at Cicotte and the tracks. Houses are small here: the assessor's sales from 2022 to 2024 on Hanford, Council, Morris, Keppen, Warwick and nearby streets had a median of about 934 square feet, and 49 sales ran from $103,000 to $176,000 with a median of $138,000. Census tract 5772 puts owner values near $97,900, typical build year 1952. Charter, Montie and Olive are among its main streets too.

Fort Park Avenue, College and Lafayette Boulevard

The north end east of Dix, along Fort Park Avenue, College, University, Russell, Reo and Lafayette Boulevard, with Lafayette Elementary and St. Henry School nearby. This is the city's oldest corner: in Census tract 5771 about 39% of homes predate 1940, and two-story houses turn up more often than anywhere else in the city, 14 of its 52 sales from 2022 to 2024. Those sales ran from $85,000 to $204,000, median $138,500. The tract's owner median of about $114,800 carries a wide margin, about $32,000 either way.

Austin, Washington and Lejeune near Raupp School

The northeast side between Fort Street and the Ecorse River, on Austin, Washington, Applewood, Lejeune, Wilson, Empire and Pingree, with Raupp Elementary and a string of small parks: VFW, Willow, Eli Ciungan, and Papalas at Montie and Pingree. Census tract 5770 has more renters than owners, about 999 renter and 677 owner households, and only about 58% of its homes are detached houses. Sixty sales from 2022 to 2024 ran from $85,000 to $220,000, median $139,950, against an owner median near $110,000.

Paun Park and Exchange Park, west of Dix

West of Dix Highway around Champaign Road, on Markese, McLain, Cleveland, White, Mill, Thomas and Progress, with Paun Elementary, Paun Park at Bailey and Hoover, and Exchange Park at Dix and McLain. Story-and-a-half houses dominate, 56 of the 79 sales from 2022 to 2024, which ran from $84,000 to $195,000 with a median of $150,000. In Census tract 5773 more than half the homes date from the 1950s, about 94% are detached, and the owner median of about $116,500 has a narrow margin of about $5,600.

City Hall, the library and the Champaign Road schools

The middle of the city around City Hall at 1355 Southfield Road, the public library next door at 1381 Southfield, and Lincoln Park High School at 1701 Champaign Road with the middle school beside it. Streets such as Cleveland, Lincoln, Progress, Philomene, Mayflower and London carry most of the sales. Sixty-four sales from 2022 to 2024 ran from $98,000 to $240,000, median $150,000, a mix of story-and-a-half and one-story houses. Census tract 5774 shows owner values near $137,200 and a typical build year of 1955. I-75 crosses the west edge of this area.

Memorial Park and Braverman Park, east of Fort

East of Fort Street between Southfield and Champaign, around Memorial Park at Fort and London, home to the Kennedy Memorial Building, the senior center, an open-air bandshell and the Blumrosen Memorial Rose Garden, and Braverman Park at Detroit and Washington. Garfield, Lincoln, Mill, Stewart, White and Merrill are typical streets. Sixty-two sales from 2022 to 2024 ran from $98,000 to $205,000, median $155,000. Census tract 5775 puts owner values near $136,700, typical build year 1953, and about 89% of homes are detached.

Council Point Park and River Drive

The east side along River Drive, where Council Point Park follows the Ecorse Creek for its whole length, with ball fields, soccer fields, a 1.9-mile walking loop and a pavilion, and Keppen Elementary inland. Cleophus, Mill, Farnham, Mayflower and Elliott carry many of the sales. In Census tract 5776 about 97% of homes are detached and 62% date from the 1950s, owner median near $137,100. Seventy-seven sales from 2022 to 2024 ran from $95,000 to $222,000, median $155,000.

River Court, Shore Drive and Kings Avenue

A pocket of short streets off Emmons Boulevard south of Council Point Park, near the creek: River Court, Shore Drive, North Shore, Kings and the east end of Cloverlawn. The assessor prices it as its own neighborhood. Ten sales from 2022 to 2024 ran from $130,000 to $222,000, median $180,000, mostly one-story houses, the three on River Court each about 912 square feet. The $222,000 sale was a 1,617-square-foot tri-level on North Shore.

Riverbank, Highland and Emmons, south of Ford Park

East of Fort Street around Emmons Boulevard, along Riverbank, Highland, Kings, Pagel, Winchester and Emmons, with Ford Park at Buckingham and Wilson. Census tract 5777 is the most owner-occupied part of the city, about 837 of 921 households, with an owner median near $156,100 and a typical build year of 1951. Its 31 sales from 2022 to 2024 were the largest houses among the city's recent sales, a median of about 1,289 square feet, and ran from $137,500 to $289,900, median $179,900, the highest tract median. Six of those 31 were two-story houses.

Buckingham and Richmond near the Community Center

The southwest quarter between Dix Highway and Fort Street below Emmons, around the Lincoln Park Community Center at 3525 Dix, Youth Center Park, wooded Forest Park at Richmond and Buckingham, the Crowley Center and Foote and Hoover elementary schools. Census tract 5778 is the city's largest by homes, about 1,921, and recorded the most sales, 129 from 2022 to 2024, two thirds of them one-story houses, on Buckingham, Richmond, Winchester, Moran and Gregory. Prices ran from $100,000 to $254,000, median $160,000, and the median varies by block group from $138,500 to $185,000. Owner median near $136,700, typical build year 1955.

LeBlanc, Michigan and Moran near Goddard Road

The south end west of Fort Street near Goddard Road, on LeBlanc, Michigan, Moran, Ford, Duplex, Longtin and Hazel, with Maple Park at Hazel and St. Johns and the South Branch of the Ecorse River near the city's edge. Story-and-a-half houses lead the 76 sales from 2022 to 2024, which ran from $110,000 to $240,000, median $155,000. Census tract 5779 shows owner values near $136,800, typical build year 1954, and about 83% detached homes.

Ford, Cloverlawn and Harrison near Lions Park

The southeast corner between Fort Street, Goddard Road and River Drive, with Carr Elementary, Kiwanis Park at Gohl and LeBlanc, Propspinner Park at Ford and River Drive, and Lions Park on River Drive at LeBlanc beside the creek, with a sensory garden and a paved loop. Census tract 5780 has the youngest homes in the city, a typical year of 1960 with about one in six from the 1970s, and an owner median near $155,100. Thirty-five sales from 2022 to 2024 ran from $120,000 to $215,000, median $171,000. Harrison and Cloverlawn are among its streets.

Schools and commute

Schools

On the Census Bureau's district boundaries, Lincoln Park Public Schools covers the whole city and stops at its edge, so no Lincoln Park address sits in another district. The district lists seven elementary schools, Carr, Foote, Hoover, Keppen, Lafayette, Paun and Raupp, plus Lincoln Park Middle School and Lincoln Park High School on Champaign Road near City Hall, and the Beacon School, the Crowley Center and the Mixter Institute for Transition. Which elementary serves a given street is on the district's own boundary map, so check the address there. Because city and district line up, the city has a single homestead total, 52.76 mills in 2025, against 53.16 in Wyandotte, 58.43 in Southgate and 59.87 in the Allen Park Public Schools part of Allen Park.

Commute

From City Hall on Southfield Road, I-75 is about half a mile away and Southfield Road runs west to the Southfield Freeway, M-39, in under 2 miles, while Fort Street and Dix Highway carry traffic north and south. By OSRM routing in light traffic, downtown Detroit at Campus Martius is about 10.7 miles and 17 minutes away, the Ambassador Bridge about 9 miles and 12 minutes, and Detroit Metro Airport about 13 miles and 24 minutes by way of I-94. Large employers sit close by: Marathon's Detroit refinery is about 3.5 miles and 7 minutes, the Ford River Rouge complex, home of the Dearborn Truck Plant, about 5.4 miles and 13 minutes, Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital about 5 miles and 11 minutes, and Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital about 4 miles and 10 minutes. Southland Center in Taylor is about 10 minutes, Ann Arbor about 45 and Toledo just under an hour. Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 put the average trip to work near 24 minutes, with about 1 worker in 13 working from home.

Michigan property taxes

Lincoln Park 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 Lincoln Park, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 74% the year after a sale. On a $150,000 home, near the typical Lincoln Park value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $1,680 at the Lincoln Park schools rate. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Lincoln Park 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.

2025 homestead millage

Lincoln Park millage beside its neighbors

Totals from Michigan Treasury's 2025 rate report. One mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, and because the city has a single school district, one homestead figure covers it.

Lincoln Park: 52.76 mills

Every owner-occupied home in the city pays this rate, roughly $5,276 a year for each $100,000 of taxable value. Without the principal residence exemption, as on a rental or second home, the rate is 70.76 mills, about $1,800 more per $100,000.

Wyandotte and Taylor: 53.16 and 49.84

Wyandotte runs about four tenths of a mill above Lincoln Park, roughly $40 more a year per $100,000 of taxable value. Taylor runs about 2.9 mills lower, near $290 less.

Southgate and Allen Park: 58.43 and 59.87

Southgate runs about 5.7 mills higher, and the Allen Park Public Schools part of Allen Park about 7.1 mills higher, $570 to $710 more a year per $100,000. The Melvindale-Northern Allen Park schools part of Allen Park is lower, 47.87 mills.

Summer bill in three parts

The city's 2026 summer bills were due August 20, with installments allowed on August 20, October 15 and February 26, 2027, and winter bills are mailed November 30. If the first installment is missed, the whole summer bill comes due with a penalty, so ask how your escrow account will pay it.

Local resources

Check Lincoln Park records yourself

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

Before you close

Lincoln Park details to settle before closing

Each of these turns up on Lincoln Park purchases, and all of them are cheaper to sort out before your inspection period ends.

  • The exterior inspection before a sale. The seller applies to the Building Department with the $150 fee, and the city mails the report within about five working days. Read the city's resale inspection page for the rules. If repairs are open at closing, you sign the as-is affidavit and have six months to finish them, so get quotes before you agree to it.
  • The water and sewer account. Under the rates set on September 1, 2026, the quarterly ready-to-serve charge is $58.26 for most homes. The city's water and sewer rates page has the current figures. Ask the seller to request a final read so the balance up to closing is billed to them.
  • The parcel record. The City Assessor's office at City Hall, 1355 Southfield Road, keeps the property records, and its BS&A online portal shows them. Call 313-386-1800, extension 1236, with questions about a parcel.
  • The flood map. Look the address up on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. In a high-risk zone the lender requires flood insurance, so get a quote before you agree on the price.
  • The certificate's dates. The city's Certificate of Approval is good for one sale and for one year, so a certificate from an earlier listing of the same house may not cover your purchase. Check its date and ask the seller for a current one.
  • Plans to rent it out. A rental needs the city's certificate first, $300 for a single-family house and renewed every three years, and it is taxed at 70.76 mills as a non-homestead property.

Where the figures come from: sales from the assessor's 2022 to 2024 file and from Redfin, tract values from the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates, which carry wide margins on a few tracts. Before you settle on an offer we pull the latest sales on your block.

What our clients say

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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
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Lincoln Park mortgage questions

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

What are Lincoln Park homes selling for in 2026?

Redfin’s median for the three months ending September 2026 was about $170,000, about 3% above a year earlier, with a typical 18 days to a contract, sales at about 101% of list price on average and a little over half selling above list. The assessor’s sales file shows the climb: a median of $142,250 in 2022, $155,000 in 2023 and $165,000 in 2024, across 727 sales, with about 15 in 16 under $200,000. Area by area the 2022 to 2024 medians run from about $138,000 on the north side to about $180,000 south of Ford Park.

Yes. On Census maps the 48146 ZIP code, the city limits and the Lincoln Park Public Schools district cover the same ground, so a 48146 house is taxed by the City of Lincoln Park and the district, at one 2025 homestead total of 52.76 mills. That is about $5,276 a year per $100,000 of taxable value. Neighboring Allen Park, Southgate, Wyandotte and Ecorse have their own ZIP codes and their own totals, so we still read the parcel record before we price the tax.

The outside of the house. Since July 1, 2005 the city has required an exterior inspection before any residential sale, and the $150 fee covers the first visit and one follow-up, with $50 for a third. The checklist covers the chimney cap, roof, gutters with 3-foot downspout extensions, porches, peeling paint, windows, foundation and fences. Violations are due within six months, and if the house sells first, the buyer signs an as-is affidavit taking them on and gets a temporary certificate for closing. The city says to have that certificate in hand before closing is scheduled.

Look the exact lot up on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center before you write the offer. A house in a high-risk zone with a mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender has to carry flood insurance, so if the map shows one, get an insurance quote while the exterior inspection and the rest of the paperwork are still in motion.

The rates that took effect September 1, 2026 are water $6.31 and sewer $8.48 per unit, plus a ready-to-serve charge of $58.26 a quarter for most homes, and trash and recycling are on the same quarterly bill. The city’s own example puts a 12-unit quarter at $248.33. Water comes from the Great Lakes Water Authority and sewage goes to the Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority. Ask the seller to request a final read from the city’s Water Department so the balance up to closing is billed to them.

The city’s history page traces Lincoln Park to a business district at Fort Street and the St. Cosme Line, now Southfield Road. It became a village in 1921 and a city in 1925. Ford’s five-dollar day brought workers who bought property here, and a second wave of building followed World War II, which is why most houses date from the 1940s and 1950s. The same page names early families such as LeBlanc, Cicotte, Keppen and Quandt, names that still mark LeBlanc and Cicotte streets, Keppen Elementary and Quandt Park.

Council Point Park covers about 27 acres along River Drive with two ball fields, two soccer fields, a 1.9-mile walking loop and a pavilion, and the Ecorse Creek runs its whole length. Memorial Park at Fort and London holds the Kennedy Memorial Building, the senior center, an open-air bandshell and the Blumrosen Memorial Rose Garden. Quandt Park at Dix and Euclid has lighted ball diamonds, Lions Park on River Drive a sensory garden and a paved loop, and Propspinner Park at Ford and River Drive hosts Jr. Rails football. Marion Park at Marion and Southfield and Jaycee Park at Harrison and Ferris are on the city’s list too.

A rental certificate before anyone moves in. The city’s rental ordinance requires registration, an inspection and paid-up taxes and water bills, and the fee for a single-family house is $300, renewed every three years. An owner who lives more than 100 miles away must name a responsible party within that radius. Taxes rise as well, since a rental is billed at the non-homestead rate, 70.76 mills in 2025 against 52.76, about $1,800 more a year per $100,000 of taxable value.

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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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