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Oakland County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Orchard Lake Village, MI

Orchard Lake Village is about 837 homes on 2.4 square miles of land, with water covering about two fifths of the city. We check the school district and flood zone behind the parcel, what the lake rights really are and whether the loan is jumbo, while multiple wholesale lenders price the loan.

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Buying a home in Orchard Lake Village

This corner of Oakland County is unusual: it straddles West Bloomfield Township and the tiny incorporated City of Orchard Lake Village, where roughly 40% of the land is water. Daily life here orbits Orchard Lake, Oakland County's third-largest lake, along with Cass Lake and Upper Straits Lake, the country clubs, and the historic Orchard Lake Schools / St. Mary's Preparatory campus. It's a bedroom community, not an industrial one, with Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and the West Bloomfield School District among the largest local employers. The City of Orchard Lake Village counted about 2,238 residents in 2020 (World Population Review), while the surrounding township pushes past 64,000. Median household income in the city tops $212,000 (Data USA).

By the numbers

Orchard Lake Village housing and mortgage snapshot

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

$816,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+28%

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

0.80%

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

2

Residential ZIP codes: 48323, 48324

What financing looks like in Orchard Lake Village

Redfin's three-month figure for Orchard Lake Village, a median near $2.85 million for July through September 2026 and almost four times the year before, comes from a quarter with five sales in September, so it says more about which houses closed than about the market. Read one by one, the 19 house sales Redfin lists inside the city for the year to October 2026 ran from $410,000 to $8,675,000, with the middle sale at $785,000, close to the $816,000 typical value in the summary card above. Nine of the 19 closed above the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750, but a jumbo loan depends on the amount borrowed, not the price, and putting more down can keep the loan under the line. When it does cross, a jumbo lender usually wants larger cash reserves left after closing and fuller income paperwork, so gather both before writing an offer. Only four of the 19 sold under the Oakland County FHA limit, $541,287. Five sold under the $566,355 price cap on MSHDA's MI Home Loan, which a first-time buyer within the income limits can pair with MSHDA's MI 10K, worth $10,000 toward the down payment. VA is open to eligible veterans.

On the lakes, the appraisal is the harder part. A house with 230 feet on Orchard Lake and a cottage two streets back from Upper Straits Lake are priced on different evidence, and in a city with a handful of sales a quarter the appraiser may reach into West Bloomfield Township for comparable sales. Check the lot on FEMA's flood map before the offer, because a federally backed loan on a house in a high-risk zone carries a flood policy as a condition. Orchard Lake, Upper Straits Lake and Cass Lake each have a court-set normal level, and the county assesses the owners who benefit, lake access lots included, through a special assessment district. A vacant 2.59-acre lot on Dow Ridge Road sold for $2,900,000 in the past year, so buying land or a house to replace means a construction loan, with the city's building department and its 35-foot lakeshore buffer in the plan from the start.

The city buys Great Lakes Water Authority water through West Bloomfield Township, and the county Water Resources Commissioner runs, maintains and bills the city's water and sewer systems. The 2025 water quality report counts 858 service lines and no lead ones, so most lenders here ask for no well test. Confirm the parcel's own connection anyway, because some owners draw lake or well water for the lawn.

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An Orchard Lake, MI 48324 address is not always in the city. 3720 Northwood Drive geocodes to West Bloomfield Township, which levied 37.39 homestead mills in 2025 against 33.70 in Orchard Lake Village with the same school district.

Sub-markets

Orchard Lake Village housing market by ZIP code

Two ZIP codes carry nearly all of the city's homes, and both reach far into West Bloomfield Township, so a 48323 or 48324 address alone does not say which government taxes it. Sampling the Census maps, 48324 covers about three quarters of the city's dry land and 48323 about a fifth. A sliver in the northeast corner along Orchard Lake Road, about 4% of the land, uses Keego Harbor's 48320. Prices below are the middle in-city house sale for each ZIP in the year to October 2026, from Redfin's sold list.

ZIP 48323, near $740,000

The south and east of the city, about 240 of its 877 homes in the 2020 Census: Cherry Hill Drive by the Nature Sanctuary, the streets south of Upper Straits Lake, and City Hall with Harbor Vista east of Orchard Lake Road. This is the only part of the city outside West Bloomfield School District, with a Walled Lake strip in the southwest and a Bloomfield Hills pocket around City Hall. Five in-city house sales in the past year ran from $475,000 on Harbor Vista Drive to $2,850,000 on Lakeview Street. Named areas: City Hall, Harbor Vista and Vista Lane, Cherry Hill Drive and the Nature Sanctuary, Deer Run Circle, Trillium Court and Lakeview Street.

ZIP 48324, near $885,000

The north, west and center, about 634 homes in 2020: West Shore Drive and the Orchard Lake Country Club, Dow Ridge Road, the St. Mary's campus, and the small lots off Shady Beach Boulevard on Upper Straits Lake. All of it is in West Bloomfield School District. Fourteen in-city house sales in the past year ran from $410,000 on Old Orchard Trail to $8,675,000 on West Shore Drive, with the middle pair at $785,000 and $985,000. Named areas: West Shore Drive and the Orchard Lake Country Club, Pelletier Boulevard, Possum Lane and Orchard Place, Dow Ridge Road, Three Lakes Lane and Dow Lake.

Sales in the past year

How the lake sets an Orchard Lake Village price

The 19 house sales Redfin lists inside the city for the year to October 2026, each checked against the Census geocoder, grouped by where the lot meets the water. With five or so sales a month, the spread between groups says more than any median.

Orchard Lake west shore: $3,500,000 to $8,675,000

Four sales on West Shore Drive by the country club, on lots of an acre or more, from 3317 West Shore at $3,500,000 to 3251 West Shore at $8,675,000.

North side ridge: $1,610,000 to $4,200,000

Dow Ridge Road and Orchard Place between Orchard and Cass lakes. A vacant 2.59-acre lot on Dow Ridge sold for $2,900,000, which prices the land on its own.

Upper Straits south shore: $1,100,000 to $2,850,000

Lakeview Street and Deer Run Circle, the city's Walled Lake school district corner, where the listings speak of lake privileges as well as frontage.

West end near La Playa: $750,000 to $985,000

Seville Circle, Carmen Court West and Bravo Court, larger houses on the west side, one of them listed under a West Bloomfield Township name.

Off the shore: $410,000 to $740,000

Old Orchard Trail, Possum Lane, Cherry Hill Drive, Arrowvale Drive and Harbor Vista Drive. The $725,000 on Possum Lane still came with a dock on Orchard Lake.

Upper Straits cottage grid: $440,000 to $555,000

Arcadia Drive and Birdview Heights in the small-lot streets off Shady Beach Boulevard, on the north side of Upper Straits Lake.

Where to look

Orchard Lake Village neighborhoods

West Shore Drive and the Orchard Lake Country Club

The west shore of Orchard Lake, where West Shore Drive runs between the country club's golf course and the water. Lots here are counted in acres. 3333 West Shore Drive, on 2.12 acres with about 230 feet of frontage facing Apple Island per its listing, sold for $4,150,000 in May 2026, and 3251 West Shore Drive closed at $8,675,000, the highest in-city sale in the past year. The Census block holding this stretch and the streets behind it counted 125 homes in 2020. 3377 West Shore Drive sold for $3,600,000 in September 2026.

Pelletier Boulevard, Possum Lane and Orchard Place

The northwest corner between Commerce Road and Orchard Lake's north bay. 5405 Possum Lane, a four-bedroom on more than an acre with its own dock on Orchard Lake per the listing, sold for $725,000 in October 2026, and 2797 Orchard Place sold for $1,610,000. Commerce Road is the edge here: 5150 Commerce Road, sold this year, sits in West Bloomfield Township.

Dow Ridge Road, Three Lakes Lane and Dow Lake

The ridge between Orchard Lake and Cass Lake on the north side, around little Dow Lake. 4764 Dow Ridge Road sold for $4,200,000 in the past year, and the vacant 2.59-acre lot at 4796 Dow Ridge Road went for $2,900,000. One Census block of 139 homes in 2020 covers Three Lakes Lane, Dow Ridge and the Commerce Road frontage.

The St. Mary's campus, Indian Trail and Seminary Road

The northeast point on Orchard Lake, the grounds of the former Michigan Military Academy, now the Orchard Lake Schools: St. Mary's Preparatory, SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, the Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake and Our Lady of Refuge School on Commerce Road. Homes are few. Indian Trail and Seminary Road wrap the campus, and the Census block there counted 20 homes in 2020.

Arrowvale, Indiandale and Erie drives by Keego Harbor

The streets off Orchard Lake Road where the city meets Keego Harbor, near Abbott Middle School, the West Bloomfield schools' bus garage and the Orchard Lake Commons shopping strip. 3514 Arrowvale Drive, four bedrooms and about 2,750 square feet, sold for $510,174 in the past year, one of the few in-city sales under the MSHDA price cap. These blocks counted 33 homes in 2020, and the three homes in the far corner carry Keego Harbor's 48320 ZIP code.

City Hall, Harbor Vista and Vista Lane

East of Orchard Lake Road around City Hall at 3955 Orchard Lake Road, the state boat launch and the shops at Pontiac Trail. This pocket, 25 homes in the 2020 Census, is the city's Bloomfield Hills School District corner, at 32.79 homestead mills in 2025. 4069 Harbor Vista Drive, listed with a West Bloomfield mailing name, is inside the city and sold for $475,000, a three-bedroom of about 2,900 square feet.

Cherry Hill Drive and the Nature Sanctuary

The southeast corner off Pontiac Trail, next to the 50-acre Orchard Lake Nature Sanctuary at 4700 Pontiac Trail, woods the city bought from Cranbrook in 1991 with oaks it puts at more than 250 years old. Cherry Hill Drive, Meadow Lane, Pine Lane and Woodlands Lane make up one Census block of 97 homes. 4461 Cherry Hill Drive sold for $740,000 and 4226 Cherry Hill Drive for $652,500 in the past year.

Elmgate Drive, Willow Lane and Old Orchard Trail

The neck of land between Orchard Lake and Upper Straits Lake, south of the country club, with Elmgate Bay, Birchway, Walnut Lane and Twin Fawn Lane. 5595 Old Orchard Trail, a four-bedroom of about 1,550 square feet, sold for $410,000, the lowest in-city house sale in the past year. Willow Lane follows Orchard Lake's south shore.

Shady Beach Boulevard and the Upper Straits north shore

A grid of short streets on the north side of Upper Straits Lake, from Lakeview and Sunset boulevards to Bluebird Avenue, Park Drive and Sunshine Place, laid out on small lots. Ten small Census blocks here counted 61 homes in 2020. 5585 Birdview Heights sold for $555,000 and 3832 Arcadia Drive for $440,000.

Seville Circle, Carmen Court and Bravo Court

The far west of the city near Upper Straits Lake, around Seville Circle, Prado Court and the La Playa streets, with the Laplaya Park trail at the city line. The three sales here were larger houses than those on the small-lot grid to the east. 5863 Seville Circle, about 4,600 square feet, sold for $750,000, 5961 Carmen Court West for $785,000 and 5867 Bravo Court for $985,000. Bravo Court was listed as West Bloomfield Township, but the Census geocoder places it in the city.

Deer Run Circle, Trillium Court and Lakeview Street

The southwest shore of Upper Straits Lake, the part of the city inside Walled Lake Consolidated Schools: about 71 homes in the 2020 Census, at 29.85 homestead mills in 2025, the lowest total in the city. 5820 Lakeview Street sold for $2,850,000 and 5215 Deer Run Circle, on about an acre with Upper Straits Lake privileges per its listing, for $1,100,000 in December 2025.

Hickory Pointe, Strong Court and Mirror Lake Drive

The south edge between Upper Straits Lake's east end and Pontiac Trail, with Browning Drive, Cranbrook Trail and the small Mirror Lake. The 2020 Census counted 46 homes across five blocks, and none sold through Redfin's list in the past year. These streets are in West Bloomfield School District, unlike Deer Run Circle less than half a mile west. Census estimates for this half of the city put the typical home's build year near 1983 and owner values near $660,000.

Schools and commute

Schools

Three public school districts tax Orchard Lake Village. Sampling the Census boundary maps, West Bloomfield School District covers about 89% of the city's dry land and roughly 780 of its 877 homes in 2020, everything in 48324 and most of 48323. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools covers about 8%, the Deer Run Circle, Trillium Court and Lakeview Street area on Upper Straits Lake, about 70 homes, and Bloomfield Hills Schools about 2%, the pocket east of Orchard Lake Road around City Hall, about 25 homes. Inside the city, Treasury's 2025 homestead totals came to 33.70 mills with West Bloomfield, 32.79 with Bloomfield Hills and 29.85 with Walled Lake, so on $300,000 of taxable value the same house would differ by about $1,150 a year between the highest and lowest. Abbott Middle School stands inside the city's northeast corner on Orchard Lake Road, and Apple Island, 35 acres in the middle of Orchard Lake, is used by West Bloomfield School District as an outdoor nature center. The St. Mary's campus on Commerce Road holds two private schools. Ask each district's enrollment office which buildings serve the address, because the boundary follows parcels, not the ZIP code.

Commute

Orchard Lake Road is the spine, running past City Hall and the St. Mary's campus, with Commerce Road on the north side and Pontiac Trail on the south. By OSRM routing from City Hall at 3955 Orchard Lake Road in light traffic, Telegraph Road is about 4.3 miles and 8 minutes southeast along Orchard Lake Road, and I-696 at Orchard Lake Road about 6.7 miles and 13 minutes south. Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital on West Maple Road is about 10 minutes away, the Oakland County government campus on North Telegraph Road about 13, Somerset Collection in Troy and Stellantis' Auburn Hills headquarters about 20, and Corewell Health's Royal Oak hospital about 21. Downtown Detroit is about 27 miles and 40 minutes by Orchard Lake Road and M-10, and Detroit Metro Airport about 47 minutes. Crain's Detroit Business, in the employer ranking the county posted in December 2023, put Stellantis at about 11,500 Oakland County workers, Henry Ford Health at about 5,300, county government at about 3,700 and Walled Lake Consolidated Schools at about 1,800. The typical one-way drive to work averages about 26 minutes in the 2020 to 2024 Census estimates, about one worker in six works from home, and the survey finds no regular transit commuters. The Western Oakland Transportation Authority offers door-to-door rides for residents 55 and older and adults with disabilities.

Michigan property taxes

Orchard Lake Village 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 Orchard Lake, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 28% the year after a sale. On a $800,000 home, near the typical Orchard Lake Village value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $2,950 at the West Bloomfield schools rate most homes here pay. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at an Orchard Lake Village 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

Don't build your budget around somebody else's tax bill. The seller's tax history tells us something about the property. It does not automatically tell us what your taxes are going to look like as the new owner.

2025 homestead millage

Orchard Lake Village tax totals beside its neighbors

Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead totals, in mills. A mill adds a dollar of yearly tax for each $1,000 of taxable value. The dollar line uses Samantha's planning number, half the price times the homestead millage, on an $816,000 house, the typical value above. It is a budget figure, not what the law sets.

City, West Bloomfield schools: 33.70

Most of the city. About $13,750 a year on the planning number. A rental or second home pays 50.27 mills instead.

City, Bloomfield Hills schools: 32.79

The City Hall and Harbor Vista pocket east of Orchard Lake Road. About $13,380 a year on the same house, and 46.41 mills as a rental.

City, Walled Lake schools: 29.85

Deer Run Circle, Trillium Court and Lakeview Street on Upper Straits. About $12,180 a year, and 47.51 mills as a rental.

West Bloomfield Township: 37.39

The township around the city, with West Bloomfield schools. About $15,250 a year on the planning number, roughly $1,500 more than the city's main total.

Keego Harbor: 40.29

The small city on the northeast line, all West Bloomfield schools. About $16,440 a year on the same planning number.

The year after you buy

In the city, taxable value typically climbs about 28% the year after a sale, by our 2026 Uncapping Study, so the seller's bill is the wrong starting point.

Local resources

Check Orchard Lake Village records yourself

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

Before the offer

What to settle on an Orchard Lake Village house

Six things a listing sheet rarely settles, all cheaper to answer before the purchase agreement is signed.

  • The government on the parcel. Orchard Lake, West Bloomfield and Keego Harbor mailing names all appear inside the city, and an Orchard Lake address can sit in the township. Oakland County Equalization assesses the city, and the city's assessing and taxes page lists who to call.
  • The school district on the bill. Three districts tax homes here, with homestead totals from 29.85 to 33.70 mills, so read the district on the last tax bill rather than the listing.
  • Which kind of lake access it is. A lot on the shore, a deeded easement and plat privileges are not the same thing in an appraisal or a title search. Ask for the deed and plat, and for what the parcel paid toward the lake level special assessment. The county explains how those districts work on its lake level page.
  • The flood map. Check the lot itself on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. If the house sits in a high-risk zone, the lender requires a flood policy, and that premium belongs in the monthly cost.
  • The water service. The county runs the city's water and sewer under contract, and its Orchard Lake Village water page has the latest quality report. Ask whether the house has a separate outdoor meter or draws lake water for the lawn.
  • Plans for the lot. The city's regulations page covers the 35-foot lakeshore buffer, tree rules and limits on regrading, and the building department registers and inspects rentals. If you plan to rebuild, talk to both before you set the budget.

What our clients say

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Individual experiences. Results vary.

Orchard Lake Village mortgage questions

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

A listing says Orchard Lake, MI 48323 or 48324. Is it in the city?

Not necessarily. Both ZIP codes cover far more of West Bloomfield Township than of the city. The Census geocoder puts 3720 Northwood Drive, Orchard Lake 48324, and 5150 Commerce Road in the township, while 4069 Harbor Vista Drive and 5867 Bravo Court, both listed with West Bloomfield names, are inside Orchard Lake Village. The township’s 2025 homestead total with West Bloomfield schools was 37.39 mills against 33.70 in the city, about $369 a year per $100,000 of taxable value, so the parcel number comes first, before we price anything.

Usually West Bloomfield, which covers about 89% of the city’s land. The Upper Straits streets around Deer Run Circle and Lakeview Street are in Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, and a pocket east of Orchard Lake Road around City Hall, City Hall itself included, is in Bloomfield Hills Schools. The three carried 33.70, 29.85 and 32.79 homestead mills in 2025, so the district on the tax bill changes the payment you plan for.

Only if the house sits in a high-risk zone on FEMA’s flood map, so we look up the lot itself on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center before you make an offer. For a house in that zone, a federally regulated or insured lender requires a flood policy, and an elevation certificate can change the quote, so the premium goes into the monthly plan early.

The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner operates, maintains and bills both systems for the city, at 248-858-1110 for billing. Its supply is Great Lakes Water Authority water, bought through West Bloomfield Township, and the 2025 water quality report lists 858 service lines with none made of lead. The city also allows a second meter for outdoor water, billed without the sewer charge, which owners who irrigate from the lake or a well cannot use. Ask for the last few water bills with the disclosure.

Orchard Lake, Upper Straits Lake and Cass Lake each have a normal level set under Michigan’s lake level law, and the county says the cost of each control structure is assessed through a special assessment district set by the Circuit Court. The owners assessed can include backlot owners with lake access, not only lakefront ones. Before closing, get last year’s assessment for the parcel from City Hall and build it into the escrow estimate.

The city contracts with Oakland County Equalization for assessing, at 248-858-0776, and keeps its own staff at City Hall, 248-682-2400. Bills go out July 1 and December 1, with summer taxes due September 1 and winter taxes due February 14, and unpaid taxes move to the county treasurer on March 1. After a sale, taxable value here typically rises about 28% the next year, by our 2026 Uncapping Study, so we plan on the buyer’s number, not the seller’s bill.

Only after the city signs off. The city’s rental rules call for registration, an inspection and a certificate before a tenant moves in, with the forms at City Hall. Without the principal residence exemption, a rented house pays the higher 2025 totals: 50.27 mills with West Bloomfield schools, 47.51 with Walled Lake and 46.41 with Bloomfield Hills. Census estimates count only a couple dozen rented homes in the whole city, with a wide margin.

Check with the city first. Its ordinances bar fertilizer and landscaping within 35 feet of a lake or wetland without a city permit, regulate trees, and limit filling or regrading land, and the building department asks owners to call before any change to a property. Construction runs 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and exterior work is barred on Sundays and holidays. Plan an addition, seawall or rebuild around those rules before the price is agreed.

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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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