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Oakland County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Keego Harbor, MI

Keego Harbor fits about 1,500 homes onto half a square mile of land between Cass, Sylvan and Dollar lakes. We check which city the parcel is really in, its flood zone, its lake fee and where the car goes, while your loan is priced with multiple wholesale lenders.

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Buying a home in Keego Harbor

Keego Harbor is one of the smallest cities in Oakland County, under a square mile, wedged between Cass Lake, Sylvan Lake and Dollar Lake and five miles from the Waterford office. It shares the 48320 ZIP with Sylvan Lake, which makes ZIP-level data unreliable here: two separate municipalities with different price structures report as one number. The housing is compact and walkable, much of it originating as lake cottages, and the city sits inside the West Bloomfield School District.

By the numbers

Keego Harbor housing and mortgage snapshot

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

$290,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+55%

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

1

Residential ZIP code: 48320

What financing looks like in Keego Harbor

Keego Harbor's median sale, by Redfin's count for July through September 2026, came in near $252,000, roughly 30% under the same quarter of 2025, with 13 homes sold in September and the typical one spending about 47 days on the market, against 21 a year earlier. That is below the $290,000 typical value in the summary card above, an April 2026 median, and both rest on a handful of closings in a city this small. Either way the price sits far under the 2026 FHA limit for Oakland County, $541,287, and the conforming limit of $832,750. The exception is the shoreline: a new house on Sylvan Lake closed at $1,398,450 in April 2026, and financing a house like that becomes a jumbo loan only once the amount borrowed passes the conforming limit. A first-time buyer who fits MSHDA's income limits can use a MI Home Loan, capped at a $566,355 sales price that all but a handful of the past year's Keego Harbor sales stayed under, and add the agency's MI 10K, worth $10,000 at closing for the down payment and repaid at sale, refinance or payoff, or once the house stops being your home. VA is open to eligible veterans.

On this lake-ringed half square mile, the water changes the loan file more than the price. About one twentieth of the city's land lies in the high-risk flood zone on FEMA's map, nearly all of it around Dollar Lake and its canal, so a house on Brock, Atlas or Kenrick Street can carry a flood insurance premium the listing never mentions. A canal lot brings a seawall and a dock for the inspector and the appraiser to look at, and a lake-access lot may come with a share of the lake level special assessment on the winter tax bill. The condominium units in the 1600 block of Cass Lake Road, which Redfin shows selling from $110,000 to $181,000 in the past year, usually need the association itself to clear the lender's project review, so request its budget, reserve figures and master insurance policy in the first week.

Older houses are the other theme. Nearly one Keego Harbor home in four was built before 1940, many of them former lake cottages, so an FHA or VA appraisal can flag peeling paint, a worn roof or a missing handrail that has to be fixed before closing, and a renovation loan can fold those repairs into the purchase. Tearing a cottage down and building new is a construction loan, and the city scores every new house on an architectural point system before a permit is issued, with a waterfront column for lots that touch a lake, canal or river. Water and sewer come through systems the city runs with the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner, so a lender here usually asks for no well or septic report.

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Not every Keego Harbor, MI 48320 address is in Keego Harbor. Typed with that city name, 1820 Inverness Street still geocodes to the City of Sylvan Lake and the Pontiac school district.

The market

The Keego Harbor housing market

Keego Harbor's median home price was about $290,000 in April 2026 with an average sale near $346,918, and August list prices ran closer to $245,000 (Redfin, Movoto). In a city this small a handful of sales swings the numbers hard, so treat any single month as noise and the range as the signal. The gap between median and average is the lakefront pulling the average up.

Sales in the past year

What the water does to a Keego Harbor price

Sale prices Redfin lists for Keego Harbor in the twelve months to mid-October 2026, grouped by how the lot meets the water. In a city with about 13 sales a month, a single closing moves the median, so we read the sales one by one.

On Sylvan Lake: $1,398,450

A new four-bedroom of about 2,370 square feet at 1517 Kessler Avenue, finished in 2025 and sold in April 2026. Frontage on the open lake is rare here and priced in its own band.

On a canal: $510,000 to $612,500

Three canal lots: 1848 Maddy Lane on a Sylvan Lake canal in April 2026, 2182 Park Circle on the Cass Lake side in October 2025 and 2820 Wall Street, with seawall and dock, in December 2025.

Near the Cass Lake swim sites: $252,500 to $350,000

Willow Beach and Grove streets, a short walk from the city's two resident beaches. The $350,000 Cape Cod at 2035 Willow Beach Street came with its own Cass Lake beach, per the listing.

Around Dollar Lake: $81,000 to $223,500

Brock and Kenrick streets by the harbor and its canal, mostly small houses, several of them in the high-risk flood zone. The $81,000 sale had listed at $125,000.

Away from the water: $164,000 to $495,000

Older streets such as Beechmont, Beland, Hensman and Pridham mostly sold from $164,000 to $330,000. Harbor Village houses built in the 2000s sold for $425,000 to $495,000.

Condos on Cass Lake Road: $110,000 to $181,000

Units in the 1600 block of Cass Lake Road, from one to two bedrooms. The association has to pass the lender's condo review, which can decide the loan type.

Where to look

Keego Harbor neighborhoods

Willow Beach Street and the Grove Street swim site

The streets between Dollar Lake and Cass Lake, where Willow Beach Street meets Grove and Brock streets. The city's two resident-only swim sites on Cass Lake sit at Willow Beach and Grove and at Willow Beach and Brock, with no parking and no pets at either. A two-bedroom Cape Cod at 2035 Willow Beach Street, sold with its own beach on Cass Lake per the listing, closed at $350,000 in September 2026, and 3070 Grove Street sold for $252,500 in the past year. Census estimates for this block group put owner values near $281,000, with a wide margin.

Dollar Lake, Brock Street and Fran Leaf Park

The harbor in the city's name. By 1912 Joseph Sawyer had dredged a canal from Dollar Lake to Cass Lake, and Fran Leaf Park on Brock Street sits on that canal with a playground, a picnic shelter and a footpath to the Willow Beach swim site. This is where the flood map bites: FEMA's high-risk zone covers nearly all the land along Brock Street, about seven tenths along Atlas Street and half along Kenrick. The 2020 Census counted 73 homes in the three blocks around the lake. Sales ran from $81,000 at 3178 Kenrick in October 2026, after listing at $125,000, to $223,500 at 3051 Kenrick in May 2026.

Park Circle and South Bay Drive

The west edge where the Dollar Lake canal reaches Cass Lake, with South Bay Drive running along Cass Lake's south bay and Bulwer Street off Orchard Lake Road. Lots here are small and close to the water: 2182 Park Circle, a 1954 house with canal frontage on a lot of about 4,900 square feet, sold for $600,000 in October 2025. Close to two thirds of the land along Bulwer Street is in the high-risk flood zone, so price the insurance with the offer.

Cass Lake Front Road, Norcott Drive and the Cass Lake Road condos

The northwest side, where Sunset Park looks out over Cass Lake from Cass Lake Road and Webb Park is a resting spot along the same street. Keego Harbor's buildings of 50 or more units stand in this block group: the 2020 Census counted 127 homes on the single block off Cass Lake Front Road, and the block group also holds most of the city's homes built since 2010. Condo units in the 1600 block of Cass Lake Road sold from $110,000 to $181,000 in the past year, and a two-bedroom on Norcott Drive went for $160,000 in September 2026 after 188 days on the market.

Beachland Boulevard and Kessler Avenue

The north tip of the city, a neck of land with Cass Lake on one side and Sylvan Lake on the other, where Otter Avenue points toward Otter Lake. A new four-bedroom house on Sylvan Lake at 1517 Kessler Avenue, built in 2025, closed at $1,398,450 in April 2026, far above any other Keego Harbor sale Redfin lists for the past year. The two small Census blocks around Beachland Boulevard counted 32 homes in 2020, and a small share of the land along Kessler Avenue is in the high-risk flood zone.

Rustic Lane, Maddy Lane and the Sylvan Lake canals

The east side, where Rustic Lane, a dead-end street, runs down to the Sylvan Lake shore and canals reach in behind Maddy Lane and Wall Street. A 1970 ranch at 1848 Maddy Lane with about 100 feet of canal frontage on Sylvan Lake sold for $510,000 in April 2026, and a canal house at 2820 Wall Street with a seawall and dock went for $612,500 in December 2025. A block back from the water, 1867 Rustic Lane sold for $290,000 and 2825 Wall Street for $300,000. The block group's typical home dates from about 1974.

Sylvan Glen, Hensman and Beechcroft streets

Short streets between Cass Lake Road and a bay of Sylvan Lake, with Fire Fighter's Park on Cass Lake Road at the foot of Hensman Street. The houses that sold here were small. A three-bedroom of about 1,060 square feet at 2900 Hensman Street sold for $235,000 in October 2026, and two houses on Beechcroft Street went for $164,000 and $205,000 in the past year. The four blocks here counted 85 homes in the 2020 Census.

City Hall, Rose Sortor Park and the Roosevelt site

The center of town, around City Hall on Beechmont Street. Rose Sortor Park behind it has a pond, a cinder trail and a gazebo, and the 4.73 acres of the former Roosevelt Elementary School at 2065 Cass Lake Road were cleared after demolition began in December 2025. On the side streets, 2131 Beechmont sold for $310,000 in October 2026, above its asking price, 2890 Beland Avenue for $325,000 and 2830 Schroeder Boulevard for $295,000. About seven homes in ten in this block group are detached houses, and owner values carry a very wide margin.

Orchard Lake Road and the Cass Lake Road corner

The commercial crossroads the 2025 Master Land Use Plan wants to turn into a walkable downtown. The city owns the 0.62-acre corner at 2980 Orchard Lake Road, zoned for business up to three stories, and the former Rite Aid site at 3000 Orchard Lake Road, 1.05 acres on Dollar Lake, is privately held and planned for a mix of homes and storefronts. The Veteran's Memorial, known as the Rock, stands on Cass Lake Road just south of the intersection, and the 2020 Census counted about 74 homes in the small blocks around the crossroads.

Pridham and Fordham streets by Baxter-Morgan Park

South of Orchard Lake Road, around Baxter-Morgan Park on Pridham Street, with its soccer field, picnic shelter and playground. About one home in three in this block group was built before 1940, and the Census puts owner values near $221,500, with a narrower margin than the other two. Owners and renters are close to even. Recent sales: $320,000 and $290,000 on Pridham Street, $226,343 at 2329 Fordham Street in January 2026 and $325,000 on the south end of Willow Beach Street.

Hester Court, Kendall Avenue and Nagle Court

The southeast corner off Orchard Lake Road. Hester Court Park, at Hester and Virginia courts, has a picnic shelter, a large playing field, parking for six to eight cars and a path onto the West Bloomfield Trail. Homes are modest in size: a one-bedroom at 2340 Hester Court sold for $205,000 in September 2026, a two-bedroom on Nagle Court for $220,000 in November 2025 and a three-bedroom on Pine Lake Avenue for $187,000.

Harbor Village and the West Bloomfield Trail

The south end along the trail, where Harbor Village Avenue, Fountain Park Avenue and Pine Lake Trail hold houses from the 2000s. A four-bedroom at 2069 Fountain Park Avenue, built in 2007 with a monthly association fee of $115 that covers snow removal, sold for $495,000 in August 2026, and nearby houses on Pine Lake Trail and Summers Road went for $490,000 and $425,000. Christopher Lane and a block of apartment buildings fill out the four Census blocks here, about 270 homes in 2020.

Schools and commute

Schools

Every Keego Harbor parcel falls inside West Bloomfield School District on the Census boundary maps, and the district also covers most of West Bloomfield Township and Orchard Lake Village and about a seventh of the City of Sylvan Lake. The district closed Roosevelt Elementary, on Cass Lake Road, in 2022 after nearly a century, and demolition began in December 2025. The 4.73-acre site still belongs to the district, and the city is collecting residents' views on what should replace it. Abbott Middle School stands just past the southwest city line at 3380 Orchard Lake Road, in Orchard Lake Village. The district buses every resident elementary student and sets a one-mile walk area for middle and high school (transportation), so ask which building and bus stop go with the address before you count on one. Because one district covers the whole city, every Keego Harbor homestead carried the same 2025 Treasury total, 40.29 mills, against 37.39 in West Bloomfield Township with the same district. The city's welcome packet sends residents to the West Bloomfield Township Public Library.

Commute

Orchard Lake Road crosses the south half of the city and Cass Lake Road runs north and south through the middle, past City Hall on Beechmont Street. By OSRM routing in light traffic from City Hall, Telegraph Road (US-24) is about 1.4 miles east along Orchard Lake Road, M-59 at Huron Street about 3 miles north and I-696 about 8.6 miles south. The Oakland County government campus at 1200 N. Telegraph Road is about 3.8 miles and 9 minutes away, Trinity Health Oakland Hospital on Woodward Avenue in Pontiac about 10 minutes, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital about 15, Stellantis' Auburn Hills headquarters about 17 and Somerset Collection in Troy about 20. Downtown Detroit is about 32 miles and 42 minutes by I-75, and Detroit Metro Airport about 53 minutes by I-696 and I-275. On the December 2023 list of Oakland County's 25 largest employers that the county posts from Crain's Detroit Business, Corewell Health came first with about 14,600 local workers, Stellantis second with about 11,500 and Oakland County government eighth with about 3,700. The West Bloomfield Trail, a 6.8-mile rail trail on the old Michigan Air Line Railway, crosses the south end, with a path in at Hester Court Park. Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 put the average drive to work near 27 minutes and about one worker in seven at home, with wide margins in a city this size.

Before the offer

Keego Harbor details to settle early

None of these show up on a listing sheet, and all of them are cheaper to deal with before the price is agreed.

  • The city on the parcel. The 48320 ZIP code is shared with Sylvan Lake, Orchard Lake Village and two townships, so the mailing address does not settle who taxes the home. Keego Harbor's assessing is handled through Waterford Township's assessing office, listed on the city's Assessing page.
  • Where the car goes. The city's welcome packet rules out parking on every street and on front lawns, so a house without a usable driveway or garage has no everyday place to put a car.
  • What the lake rights are. Frontage, a deeded easement, an association beach or only the city's resident swim sites are four different things to a buyer and to an appraiser. The parks page lists the two public sites, and the county's lake level page explains who pays for the court-set levels.
  • The flood line. Pull up the parcel on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, especially near Dollar Lake, and get an insurance quote while you can still walk away.
  • Plans to rebuild. The city's new home packet lays out the steps: a $125 zoning review with the city planner, an architectural point score with a separate waterfront column, a $1,000 plan review fee plus a $1,500 refundable escrow, a stormwater permit from the county and the water and sewer tap fee.
  • Plans to rent it out. Registration, a local agent and an inspection come first under the city's rental housing program.
  • Paperwork at City Hall. File the Principal Residence Exemption with the Property Transfer Affidavit once you close. Both are on the city's Tax page, and neither can be filed online: mail them or use the drop box at City Hall.

The block group figures in the neighborhood cards are Census estimates covering 2020 to 2024, with wide margins in a city this small, so we pull the recent sales around any house you want to make an offer on.

Michigan property taxes

Keego Harbor 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 Keego Harbor, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 55% the year after a sale. On a $300,000 home, near the typical Keego Harbor value, that is roughly $2,150 more in first-year tax at the local median homestead millage. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Keego Harbor 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.

2025 homestead millage

How Keego Harbor's 40.29 mills compare

Homestead totals from Michigan Treasury's 2025 rate report, in mills: one mill adds a dollar per $1,000 of taxable value. Every place on these cards uses West Bloomfield School District for some or all of its homes. The after-sale rise in taxable value comes from our 2026 Uncapping Study.

Keego Harbor: 40.29 mills

Roughly $4,029 on each $100,000 of taxable value every year. After a sale, taxable value here typically climbs about 55%. A rental or second home is billed 56.87 mills.

West Bloomfield Township: 37.39

Same school district, about $291 less per $100,000 of taxable value each year. Typical rise after a sale: about 31%.

Orchard Lake Village: 33.70

The city next door on Orchard Lake Road, about $659 less per $100,000 than Keego Harbor every year. Typical rise after a sale: about 28%.

Sylvan Lake: 42.26 or 36.33

42.26 mills where West Bloomfield School District serves it and 36.33 in its larger Pontiac part. Typical rise after a sale: about 58%. The two cities share the 48320 ZIP code.

Two bills, two fees

The summer bill goes out at the end of June, payable without penalty until September 14, and carries the trash fee. The winter bill goes out at the end of November, due by February 14, and carries the lake leveling fee. After February 28, unpaid taxes are paid to the Oakland County Treasurer.

Samantha's planning number

Samantha budgets half the price times 40.2912 mills, about $5,080 a year on a $252,000 purchase. She plans high on purpose, and it is her planning figure, not the legal formula: the bill itself follows the assessor's value.

Local resources

Check Keego Harbor records yourself

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

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.
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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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Individual experiences. Results vary.

Keego Harbor mortgage questions

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

A listing reads Keego Harbor, MI 48320. Is the house in the city?

Not always. Census ZIP boundaries put a little under half of the 48320 ZIP code’s land in Keego Harbor, about as much in the City of Sylvan Lake and the rest in Orchard Lake Village and slivers of Bloomfield and West Bloomfield townships. The Census geocoder places 1820 Inverness Street, Keego Harbor 48320 in the City of Sylvan Lake and the Pontiac school district, and 2275 Orchard Lake Road, Sylvan Lake 48320 in West Bloomfield Township. Each pays a different 2025 homestead total, so we confirm the parcel number and the taxing unit before anything else.

No, although it once was. The area belonged to West Bloomfield Township until a city charter was approved on March 25, 1955. Ties remain: the city sits in West Bloomfield School District, its residents use the West Bloomfield Township Public Library, and the Tri-City Fire Department it shares with Sylvan Lake and Orchard Lake Village contracts with West Bloomfield for fire and EMS calls. The tax bill is the city’s own, 40.29 homestead mills in 2025 against 37.39 in the township with the same school district, or $291 more per $100,000 of taxable value every year.

Every parcel in the city is in West Bloomfield School District. Roosevelt Elementary on Cass Lake Road closed in 2022, demolition began in December 2025, and the district still owns the 4.73-acre site. The district assigns buildings by address, buses resident elementary students and expects middle and high school students who live within a mile to walk. Abbott Middle School is just over the line on Orchard Lake Road. Ask the district’s enrollment office which buildings go with the house before you write the offer.

For most houses, no. Sampling the FEMA map point by point, about 5% of Keego Harbor’s dry land falls in the high-risk zone, almost all of it within a block or two of Dollar Lake and its canal, with thinner strips along the Cass Lake and Sylvan Lake shores. Under FEMA’s rules, a house in that zone financed with a government-backed mortgage needs a flood policy. The map’s base flood elevation is 931 feet around Dollar Lake and Cass Lake and 929 feet on the Sylvan Lake side, so an elevation certificate showing the house above that line can change the quote.

The city adds an ongoing lake leveling fee to each winter tax bill. Cass, Otter and Sylvan lakes each have a court-set normal level kept by the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner, and the county says the owners who benefit from a lake level, backlot owners with lake access as well as lakefront ones, are assessed for it through a special assessment district set up by the Circuit Court. Ask the City Treasurer what the parcel paid last winter so it goes into your escrow estimate.

No. The city’s welcome packet says there is no parking on any street in Keego Harbor and no parking on front lawns, so snowplows and emergency vehicles can get through, and violators can be ticketed or towed. Short exceptions of up to 24 hours need the police chief’s approval first. On a small lot, the driveway and garage are the parking, so count spaces when you tour.

The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner runs the city’s water and sanitary sewer systems with the city and bills them, so the account opens with the county office rather than City Hall. The water comes from the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Lake Huron plant, and the county lists no known lead service lines in the city’s system. Priority Waste collects trash and recycling on Mondays under a city contract, paid through a fee on the summer tax bill. A new house pays the city a $1,190 water and sewer tap fee, or $940 to reconnect.

Yes, once the city has it on file. Each rental unit is registered with a named local agent and inspected, and a valid Certificate of Compliance is needed before the unit is occupied. The certificate and the registration run three years, and the owner re-registers at least 30 days before they lapse. A rental also loses the principal residence exemption, so the 2025 total rose from 40.29 to 56.87 mills, roughly $1,657 more per $100,000 of taxable value each year.

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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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