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Washtenaw County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Dexter Township, MI

A Dexter Township house can carry Dexter, Chelsea, Gregory or Pinckney mail, sit in one of three school districts, and drain to a lake sewer authority or to its own septic field, while the township alone taxes it. Samantha brings that parcel's details to multiple wholesale lenders and shows you their offers next to one another.

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

Dexter Township, in Washtenaw County, is home to about 6,634 residents in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey (6,696 in the 2020 census) across about 30 square miles of land. Dexter Township is a separate unit of government from the City of Dexter: the two share ZIP codes, but each has its own assessor and tax rates, so a Dexter mailing address alone does not say which one taxes the home. Downtown Ann Arbor is about 13 miles southeast in a straight line, and downtown Detroit is about 46 miles east in a straight line.

By the numbers

What do the numbers say about Dexter Township housing?

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

$466,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+41%

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

4

Residential ZIP codes: 48130, 48118, 48137, 48169

What does financing look like in Dexter Township?

No sales report covers the township on its own, because its four ZIP codes reach well past its lines. For the three months ending September 2026, Redfin put the median sale near $526,000 in Dexter 48130 at about 37 days on market, near $460,000 in Pinckney 48169 at about 28 days, and near $425,000 in Chelsea 48118 at about 33 days. Owners answering the Census value the typical Dexter Township home near $466,300, give or take about $28,300. About 25% of owner homes fall between $400,000 and $500,000, about 31% between $500,000 and $750,000, and about 11% at $750,000 or more, with roughly 16% under $300,000. The FHA ceiling for Washtenaw County, $541,287, sits above that median, while a larger lake or acreage home can pass it. A jumbo loan comes into play only when the loan itself goes over $832,750, the 2026 conforming limit, and on a bigger home the down payment often decides which side of that line you land on.

How a house handles its wastewater depends on where it sits. The township's master plan says the Multi Lakes Sewer Authority serves the lake properties in the northwest and the Portage Base Lakes Area Water and Sewer Authority serves the northeast, and in the 2022 township survey about 77% of respondents said their home runs on a private septic system. The Multi Lake system is mostly grinder pumps, about 1,300 of them, plus vacuum sewer, and the authority says the owner maintains the plumbing from the house to the pump and should size any standby generator for it. A buyer sets up the sewer account by giving the authority the Property Transfer Affidavit. Off the sewer lines, Washtenaw County's Time of Sale program has a county-certified inspector check the well and septic system before the house can sell, so ask for that report early.

Lake homes can carry one more line on the bill. The Washtenaw County Board of Public Works runs lake improvement projects paid by special assessment on parcels with deeded lake access, one on Silver Lake and one on the Little Portage, Big Portage, Base Line, Whitewood and Tamarack chain, so ask the seller what the parcel pays. Land is zoned in large pieces: five acres in the agricultural district (one acre under set conditions), two acres in rural residential and one acre in the lake residential district when the lot is on septic, half an acre when it is on sewer. A new house on bare land usually starts with a construction-to-permanent loan. A first-time buyer under MSHDA's income ceilings can add the MI 10K to an MI Home Loan. The $10,000 is repaid when the home is sold or refinanced, when the loan is paid off, or when the owner stops living there, and MSHDA caps the price at $566,355, above the township's Census median.

In 2025 a Dexter Township homestead in Pinckney Community Schools paid 34.44 mills, against 25.65 for the same district across the county line in Putnam Township, and most Dexter Township homes with a Pinckney 48169 address are not in the Pinckney district at all but in Dexter Community Schools, at 36.89.

The market

What is the Dexter Township housing market like?

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts the median owner-occupied home value in Dexter Township near $466,300, across about 2,540 owner-occupied homes, with a median year built of 1984. The typical home value in Dexter Township is near $466,000. Homeowners pay a median of about $5,791 a year in property taxes, an effective rate of about 1.24% of the median value.

Mail and ZIP codes

Dexter Township by ZIP code

Four ZIP codes deliver the township's mail and none of them is the township's alone. Shares below come from Census ZIP code areas and the 2020 block count of homes, and Redfin's medians cover each ZIP in full.

48130: Dexter, the south and east

About 58% of the township's area and about 45% of its homes, from Riker Lake east to Hudson Mills and up to Little Portage Lake. Nearly all are in Dexter Community Schools. Redfin's median for the whole ZIP was near $526,000.

48169: Pinckney, the lakes in the north

About 12% of the area yet about 22% of the homes, on the Portage Lake, Silver Lake and Halfmoon Lake streets. Dexter Community Schools takes about 362 of them, Pinckney 199 and Chelsea 42. Redfin's median was near $460,000.

48118: Chelsea, the southwest

About 17% of the area and about 17% of the homes, around Riker Lake, McKinley Road and the West Lake Preserve, all in Chelsea School District. Redfin's median was near $425,000.

48137: Gregory, North Lake

About 13% of the area and about 17% of the homes, almost all of them on and near North Lake, and all but two in Chelsea School District by Census lines. Redfin did not have a recent figure we could read for this ZIP.

Where to look

Which neighborhoods make up Dexter Township?

North Lake, Webbs Landing and Sauer Road

The northwest corner on North Lake, which the township shares with Lyndon Township, with North Lake Road, Webb's Shore Drive, Edgewater Drive, Gilbert Drive, Sauer Road, the North Lake Orchard streets and Aberdeen Road. In the 2020 count about 440 homes in this block group sat in the Gregory 48137 ZIP area, all in Chelsea School District, and the township history notes the North Lake Methodist Episcopal Church dates to 1836. For the whole block group, which reaches east to Silver Lake, the Census puts owner values near $462,000 with a wide margin of about $77,200 and the typical home in 1980.

Halfmoon, Crooked and Pickerel lakes by the recreation area

The lake country along the Pinckney Recreation Area, where Crooked, Pickerel, Losee and Dead lakes lie wholly inside the township and Halfmoon Lake runs across its north line. About 42 homes on Shore Drive by Halfmoon Lake take Pinckney 48169 mail yet sit in Chelsea School District. The recreation area's headquarters at 8555 Silver Hill Road carries a Pinckney address, and the Census geocoder places it in Dexter Township and Dexter Community Schools. State land here pays the township a payment in lieu of taxes rather than a tax bill.

Silver Lake, Toma Road and Losee Lake

Silver Lake, shared with Putnam Township in Livingston County, with Silver Hill Road, Toma Road, Thumm Road, Cedar Drive and the north end of Dexter Townhall Road, plus Timber Ridge Court and Fox Ridge Drive near Losee Lake. About 107 homes here are in Pinckney Community Schools, the largest group the district has in the township, with about 28 more Pinckney mail homes and about 86 Dexter 48130 homes in Dexter Community Schools. Parcels with deeded Silver Lake access pay the county's lake improvement assessment.

Portage Lake shore and McGregor Road

The Portage Lake side in the northeast, with Grove Drive, Algonquin Drive, Shell Beach Road, Portage Lake Avenue, Ross Drive, Portage Boulevard and McGregor Road, where Ore Creek Craft Cider sits at 9280 McGregor Rd, Pinckney, inside the township and Dexter Community Schools. About 334 homes in this part of the block group had Pinckney 48169 mail and Dexter schools in 2020. The township's population grew in part as cottages around the lakes became year-round houses, and the Census puts the block group's typical build year at 1960, the oldest in the township. Its owner median near $372,200 carries a margin of about $217,100, so lakefront and off-lake prices here are far apart.

Winston Road, Willis Drive and the Portage River mouth

A cluster of streets off Winston Road, Willis Drive, Betty Place, Stanette Drive and Florence Avenue near where the Portage River meets the lakes. About 92 homes here sit in Pinckney Community Schools while their neighbors a few roads over are in Dexter Community Schools, so this is where a mailing address tells you least about the school code.

Little Portage Lake, Stinchfield Woods and Peach Mountain

The streets between Little Portage Lake and North Territorial Road, including Huron River Court, Peach Mountain Lane and Stinchfield Woods Road, next to the Stinchfield Woods preserve and the Reichert Nature Preserve, 92 acres with frontage on Little Portage Lake and Portage Creek that is open by written permission. About 117 homes here use Dexter 48130 mail and sit in Dexter Community Schools. The old Dover hamlet, where Samuel Dexter's Dover Mills once stood, is in this corner.

Riker Lake, Bolen Court and Quail Hollow

The southwest around Riker Lake, with Riker Road, Bolen Court, East and West Quail Hollow Court, Westbourne and Eastbourne drives, Red Barn Circle, Oak Ridge Lane, Stillwater Drive and Hayrake Hollow, and the Inverness Country Club golf course nearby. About 346 homes here have Chelsea 48118 mail and Chelsea School District. For the block group the Census owner median is near $460,000 and the typical home dates from 1992, with every occupied home owner-occupied.

Colby Road, Quigley Road and North Territorial

The middle of the township along Colby Road, Quigley Road, Madden Road and Oak Hill Drive, near the old Catholic cemetery at Quigley and Dexter Townhall roads. About 91 homes here carry Dexter 48130 mail and Dexter Community Schools, beside the Chelsea district homes to the west. The Multi Lake Water and Sewer Authority keeps its office at 12088 N. Territorial Rd, which the Census geocoder also places in the township.

West Lake Preserve, McKinley and Waterloo roads

The south side by the West Lake Preserve and its 2.22-mile rustic trail, with McKinley Road, McKinley Heights Drive and Court, Waterloo Road and Westbury Drive. About 147 homes in this block group are in Chelsea School District, most of them with Chelsea 48118 mail and about 21 with Dexter 48130 mail along North Lima Center Road. The Census owner median for the block group is near $500,800, the highest in the township, with a margin of about $85,000.

North Oxford, King Hill and Stoney Field

Subdivision streets toward Four Mile Lake and Island Lake Road, among them North Oxford Court, King Hill Drive, Starfield Court, Fieldstone Drive, East Stoney Field Drive and Island Hills Drive. About 182 homes here are in Dexter Community Schools with Dexter mail. The block group's typical build year is 2000, the newest in the township, and all of its homes are detached and owner-occupied.

Huron Creek, Mountain View and the township hall

The southeast along Dexter-Pinckney Road, where the township hall stands at 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Rd, with Huron Creek Drive and Court, Mountain View, Westwind Drive, Sundance Trail, Castleton Court and Patna Drive. Every one of the roughly 743 homes in this block group in 2020 had Dexter 48130 mail and Dexter Community Schools. The Census owner median is near $473,200 and the typical home dates from 1986.

Hudson Mills, Harris Road and Huron River Drive

The east edge along the Huron River, around Hudson Mills Metropark at 8801 N. Territorial Rd, with Harris Road, Fleming Road, Horseshoe Bend and Island Lake Road, and the Border to Border Trail running between Dexter and the park. The township's zoning ordinance requires a state Natural River zoning permit before anyone clears, excavates or builds inside the river's natural river zone, which matters for an addition or a new garage near the water.

Schools and commute

Schools

Three school districts tax parcels in Dexter Township, and the mailing town does not say which one. Dexter Community Schools holds about 60% of the township's area inside Census district lines and about 57% of homes in the 2020 block count, including most homes with Pinckney 48169 mail. Chelsea School District takes about 34% of the area and about 36% of the homes, nearly every Gregory 48137 and Chelsea 48118 home among them, and Pinckney Community Schools about 7%, mostly around Silver Lake and Winston Road. Michigan Treasury's 2025 figures give a township homestead 36.89 mills with Dexter, 36.50 with Chelsea and 34.44 with Pinckney, so the Pinckney corner pays about $245 a year less on each $100,000 of taxable value than a Dexter district parcel. The school code printed on the tax record is the one to plan around.

Commute

No freeway crosses the township. Its zoning ordinance names Dexter-Pinckney Road, Dexter Townhall Road, North Territorial Road, Hankerd Road, Stofer Road and the paved parts of Island Lake Road and Huron River Drive as the paved roads, and in the 2022 township survey about 47% of respondents lived on gravel and 39% on a private road. Measured with OSRM from the township hall, with no traffic, the drive to downtown Dexter is about 4 miles and 7 minutes, the Village of Pinckney about 11 minutes, downtown Chelsea about 17, I-94 at Baker Road about 8 miles, US-23 at North Territorial Road about 19 minutes, downtown Ann Arbor about 16 miles and 23 minutes, the University of Michigan Hospital about 24, Brighton about 29, Jackson about 45, Detroit Metro Airport about 50 and downtown Detroit about 64. Ann Arbor SPARK's September 2026 list of Washtenaw County employers puts the University of Michigan first at roughly 37,400 jobs and Trinity Health Michigan, with sites including Chelsea, near 5,500, and it counts the Stellantis Chelsea Proving Grounds, Chelsea Milling Company, Hatch Stamping and Sheridan Books in Chelsea and Dexter Fastener Technologies and Medtronic in Dexter. The Census puts the average one-way trip to work near 30 minutes, and roughly one worker in four works at home.

Day to day

Living in Dexter Township

Parks, errands, events, seasonal tasks and the kinds of homes you will see, from the township's park pass page, its curbside collection page, its meeting calendar, Hudson Mills Metropark, the City of Dexter farmers market page, the Washtenaw County Time of Sale program, and the other sources named in each card.

What is there to do around Dexter Township?

Hudson Mills Metropark sits at 8801 N. Territorial Road, with Huron River paddling, hiking and biking trails that connect to downtown Dexter, an 18 hole golf course and two disc golf courses. The park is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and takes a daily or annual vehicle pass. The Board of Trustees pays for one 2027 Hudson Mills annual pass per house, requested by form, which also opens all thirteen Huron Clinton Metroparks. The township's history page also names Pinckney Recreation Area, West Lake Preserve and Reichert Nature Preserve.

Where do people run errands?

The Township Hall is at 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Road, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with a locked drop box outside for tax payments. Everyday shopping and services are a short drive east in the City of Dexter, where the farmers market is at 3233 Alpine Street, and Ann Arbor is the larger hub beyond it. Trash and recycling do not need a trip anywhere: since April 1, 2026, WM is the township's single curbside hauler for homes that sign up.

What happens here through the year?

The City of Dexter Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., May through October, under cover at 3233 Alpine Street, and 2026 is its 20th year. The township calendar lists the Board of Trustees meeting on November 17, 2026 and a Coffee Chat with trustees on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. The Board of Review meets Wednesday, December 16, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. Planning Commission meetings fall on Tuesdays, including November 24.

What does each season mean for a homeowner?

Yard waste pickup runs from the first full week of April to the second full week of December, in paper leaf bags or a 32 gallon container, so fall leaves have a collection window. Bulk items go out the first week of each month and must be scheduled 48 hours ahead. The township's gravel roads are one reason it moved to a single hauler, to cut heavy truck traffic. Summer property taxes were due without penalty by 5:00 p.m. on September 15 in 2025, according to the township's tax bill notes.

Which kind of home are you after?

The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey counts 2,860 homes in Dexter Township, and 2,786 of them are detached houses. The rest are a few attached homes and small buildings. The township master plan covers lake neighborhoods, farmland and open space, so lot sizes and services vary. A home on a lake can carry a sewer authority assessment, a rural lot may have a well and septic that Washtenaw County's Time of Sale program inspects before a sale, and a new build gets its own first tax bill.

Before you close

Questions to answer on a Dexter Township house

The lakes and the large lots make a few of these come up more often here, so settle them while your offer can still change.

  • The school code and the tax figure. Three districts tax township parcels. The township's assessor page links the online property lookup, and the hall at 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Rd is open Monday through Thursday.
  • Sewer or septic. On the lakes, find out whether the house is on Multi Lake Water and Sewer or the Portage Base Lakes authority, and for a grinder pump, who services it. Off the sewer, get the county well and septic report.
  • A lake assessment. Ask whether the parcel has deeded lake access and what the county lake improvement district charges it each year.
  • The road. A public gravel road, a paved county road and a private road are maintained in different ways, so ask who plows and grades it.
  • Plans to build or add on. Lot sizes run from half an acre on sewer in the lake district to five acres in the agricultural district, and near the Huron River a state Natural River permit comes first.
  • The flood zone. Run the address through FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, and when the house lands in a high-risk zone, get a flood insurance quote while the inspection window is still open.
  • Trash service. Curbside pickup is now through one hauler under the township's curbside collection contract, so set it up in your own name after closing.

Michigan property taxes

What will my property taxes be after I buy in Dexter 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 Dexter Township, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 41% the year after a sale. On a $475,000 home, near the typical Dexter Township value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $2,500 to $2,530, depending on the school district. Most homes here are in Dexter schools (about $2,530); Chelsea schools homes run about $2,500. Your address decides which applies. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Dexter 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.

In Samantha's words

I'd much rather somebody ask me, "Why are your taxes higher than what I'm seeing online?" than have them build a housing budget around the wrong assumption.

Mills on a 2025 homestead

How Dexter Township millage compares nearby

Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead totals for the township's three school districts, beside the neighbors that share its mail. One mill costs $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value. The rise after a sale is from our 2026 Uncapping Study: how much taxable value typically climbs the year a new owner arrives.

Dexter Township with Dexter schools: 36.89

About 57% of township homes, roughly $3,689 for each $100,000 of taxable value. In the township, our study finds taxable value typically climbs about 41% after a sale.

With Chelsea or Pinckney schools: 36.50 or 34.44

Chelsea district homes pay about $39 a year less per $100,000 than Dexter district homes. Pinckney district homes by Silver Lake pay about $245 less.

City of Dexter and City of Chelsea: 48.90 and 47.01

Both cities add their own levies, so a homestead there pays about 10 to 12 mills more than a township parcel with the same school district and the same mail.

Lima and Lyndon townships: 35.02 and 37.40

Lima with Dexter schools and Lyndon with Chelsea schools sit close to Dexter Township. Our study finds Lima's typical rise after a sale near 35% and Lyndon's near 44%.

Putnam Township with Pinckney schools: 25.65

Across the Livingston County line, the same Pinckney district costs about $879 less a year per $100,000 of taxable value than on the Dexter Township side of Silver Lake.

Inside the township total

Dexter Township voters approved a ten-year 0.5 mill farmland and open space preservation levy in 2022, which lets the township buy development rights so farms and open land stay as they are.

Local resources

Check Dexter Township records yourself

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

What our clients say

5.0 on Google across 123 reviews

★★★★★
Can’t say enough great things about Samantha and her team at Align Lending! Highly recommend
Justin BartonJune 2024
★★★★★
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

Individual experiences. Results vary.

Dexter Township mortgage questions

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

What do homes in Dexter Township sell for?

No sales figure stops at the township line. Redfin’s July through September 2026 figures by ZIP code put the median near $526,000 for Dexter 48130, near $460,000 for Pinckney 48169 and near $425,000 for Chelsea 48118, and each ZIP reaches into other towns. The Census owner median for the township is about $466,300, and its block group estimates run from near $372,200 on the Portage Lake streets to near $500,800 by the West Lake Preserve. A lakefront house can sit far from all of those, so we price the one you choose from nearby sales.

It may be, and the mail will not settle it. In the 2020 count about 45% of township homes were in the Dexter 48130 ZIP area, 22% in Pinckney 48169, 17% in Chelsea 48118 and 17% in Gregory 48137. The Census geocoder places the township hall at 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Rd, Dexter and 9280 McGregor Rd, Pinckney inside the township, while 8140 Main St in downtown Dexter is in the City of Dexter. The difference shows on the bill: a City of Dexter homestead paid 48.90 mills in 2025, against 36.89 for a township home in the same school district.

The tax record names it, so check the parcel in the township’s online property lookup. Dexter Community Schools serves about 57% of homes, Chelsea School District about 36% and Pinckney Community Schools about 7%. Treasury’s 2025 homestead totals were 36.89, 36.50 and 34.44 mills in that order.

It depends on the lake. The Multi Lakes Sewer Authority serves lake properties in the northwest and the Portage Base Lakes Area Water and Sewer Authority the northeast, and most other homes have their own well and septic system. Multi Lake’s office is at 12088 N. Territorial Rd, 734-426-9797, and it asks a new owner for the Property Transfer Affidavit to open the account. A house on a grinder pump needs power to run it, so ask whether a standby generator is wired in. A septic house goes through the county’s Time of Sale inspection before the sale.

Often it will. The Washtenaw County Board of Public Works charges parcels with deeded lake access for lake improvement projects that control invasive weeds. For Silver Lake, the 2023 notice set maximum yearly charges of $410 for a waterfront home and $172 for an off-water home with lake access, and a separate project covers Little Portage, Big Portage, Base Line, Whitewood and Tamarack lakes. Ask the seller and the township treasurer at 734-726-4660 what the parcel pays and when the district comes up for renewal.

The answer comes from the address, not the township. Enter it on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center before making an offer. Where the map puts the house in a high-risk zone, a lender has to see flood coverage, and that premium belongs in the monthly budget from the start. Near the Huron River, a state Natural River zoning permit is also needed before clearing or building in the river’s zone.

An accessory dwelling is allowed with the house in the agricultural, rural residential and lake residential districts, one per lot, with the owner living in one of the two units. It can be up to 600 square feet or a third of the main house, whichever is larger. The township added a definition of a short-term rental, a stay of up to 30 days, to its zoning ordinance effective October 7, 2026, after a committee studied the question, so ask the planning and zoning office at 734-426-3767 before you count on rental income.

The township runs no parks of its own. In 2026 it offered every house a free annual pass to Hudson Mills Metropark, which also opens the other Huron-Clinton Metroparks. Since April 1, 2026, WM is the only company allowed to collect trash at the curb, and signing up is optional, at a first-year quarterly charge of $40.56 for trash and $29.25 for recycling. The Dexter Area Fire Department protects the township, and the assessor is in the office on Wednesdays at 734-426-3767.

Talk with a local mortgage expert

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

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    Tell us what you are trying to do

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  2. 2

    Samantha looks at your situation

    She works out what matters most for you specifically.

  3. 3

    You leave with a plan

    Your options, the tradeoffs, and your next step. No obligation to go further.

Sources

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

32 sources behind the Dexter 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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