Saginaw County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Saginaw Township, MI

Buying or refinancing in Saginaw Township? Samantha compares your loan across multiple wholesale lenders, and she checks the parcel before the price, since the word Saginaw on an envelope can mean the township, the City of Saginaw or a neighboring township, each with its own tax bill.

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Buying a home in Saginaw Township

Saginaw Township is a charter township in Saginaw County next to the City of Saginaw, home to about 41,000 residents in the Census Bureau's 2024 estimate. Saginaw Township is governed separately from the city and is part of the Saginaw, Midland and Bay City region. The median household income in Saginaw Township is near $67,600.

By the numbers

Saginaw Township housing and mortgage snapshot

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

$182,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+29%

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

1.49%

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

4

Residential ZIP codes: 48603, 48638, 48604, 48602

What financing looks like in Saginaw Township

Redfin's figures for the three months through September 2026 put the median sale in ZIP code 48603 near $242,000, about 4.5% lower than a year earlier, with homes selling after about 13 days on the market. In 48638, the township's south side, the median was near $227,000, up about 6%, at about 15 days. A loan on either median fits well inside the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 and Saginaw County's FHA limit of $541,287, so conventional, FHA and VA loans all work and the choice usually turns on credit, savings and the property. Two property questions can matter more than the program. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that a manufactured home is generally titled as real estate only when it sits on a permanent foundation on land its owner holds, and otherwise it is usually financed with a personal property loan that many mortgage lenders do not make. And along the Tittabawassee River, a house in FEMA's high-risk flood zone will need a flood policy for any federally backed mortgage. The township is in Class 7 of FEMA's discount program for communities, which cuts National Flood Insurance Program premiums by 15% for policies written in the township, and the City of Saginaw is not on that list.

MSHDA's MI 10K program adds $10,000 for the down payment to a MI Home Loan for eligible buyers, as a deferred loan that comes due only on a sale, a refinance, a payoff or a move out of the home. Household income caps apply, and MSHDA's $566,355 purchase price ceiling is far above what township homes typically sell for. About 45% of the township's homes went up between 1960 and 1979, so when a roof, a furnace or the windows are near the end of their life, ask for a renovation loan quote next to the regular purchase quote. Budget the tax bill by season as well. The township mails bills on July 1 and December 1, and on its 2026 table the July bill carries about 19.90 of the 36.45 homestead mills, a little more than half. Unlike the City of Saginaw next door, the township levies no income tax.

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Saginaw Township and the City of Saginaw share a mailing name but not a tax bill. In 2025 a township homestead paid 37.62 mills and no income tax, while a city homestead paid 52.62 mills and city residents also pay the city's 1.5% income tax.

The market

The Saginaw Township housing market

The typical home value in Saginaw Township is near $182,000, the median for owner-occupied homes in the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which counts about 12,200 owner-occupied homes here. The median year built is 1975, and Saginaw Township is mostly established subdivisions of ranches and colonials. Homeowners pay a median of about $2,710 a year in property taxes, an effective property tax rate of about 1.49% of the median value.

Mailing addresses

Four ZIP codes, two of them mostly elsewhere

Every township address reads Saginaw, MI. Home counts are from the 2020 Census, and sale figures are Redfin's medians for each whole ZIP code over the three months through September 2026.

48603, near $242,000

About two thirds of the township's homes, from Tittabawassee Road south past State Street, and only a few dozen homes outside the township. The median sale ran about 4.5% below a year earlier.

48638, near $227,000

About 31% of township homes, on the south side around Gratiot Road and West Michigan Avenue, with about 1% of the ZIP code's homes across the line in the city. The median ran about 6% above a year earlier.

48604, near $145,000

About 300 township homes on the northeast side near Fashion Square and Bay Road. Most 48604 homes are in Carrollton and Kochville townships and the City of Zilwaukee, so its median describes those places more than this one.

48602, near $90,000

About 350 township homes on the east edge by Dale Road and Benton Road. About 97% of 48602 homes are in the City of Saginaw, so its median is a city figure.

Where to look

Saginaw Township neighborhoods

Township Hall and the Olson complex

The blocks east of North Center Road between Shattuck and Tittabawassee roads: Township Hall at 4980 Shattuck, the Zauel Memorial Library, the Center Courts gym and the 31.5-acre George Olson Recreation Complex, plus subdivision streets off Hemmeter Road such as White Trillium and Wintergreen drives. About four in five homes are detached houses and owners outnumber renters about eleven to one. Owner values near $211,000, typical home from 1980. Covenant HealthCare's Mackinaw Road site sits at the north end.

Fashion Square and Bay Road

East of Mackinaw Road from Shattuck Road north to Tittabawassee Road: Fashion Square Mall, Bay Road (M-84) and I-675 on the township's east side, the Pleasant View par-3 course on Barnard Road, the township soccer complex on McCarty Road and Sherwood Elementary on Shattuck. Streets such as Harbortowne Drive, Tuscany and the Lakeside drives mix houses with apartments. Renters outnumber owners about six to five and about a third of its homes are apartments in buildings of five units or more. The owner median is near $169,000 and the typical home dates from 1978. Most of the township's 48604 addresses are here.

Lakecress and Autumn Ridge

North of McCarty Road between North Center and Hospital roads, along Lakecress Drive, Crowberry Trail, Autumn Ridge and Alexandra Street. The Census counts about 675 mobile homes here, close to half the tract's homes, beside about 730 detached houses, and owners hold all but about one home in twelve. Its typical home dates from 1999, the latest of the township's eleven tracts. The owner median, near $206,000, carries a margin of more than $100,000 either way, so read it as a rough guide.

Sawmill, Wickes Park and the west side

The township's west side, out to the Tittabawassee River and crossed by Midland Road (M-47): Heritage High School on North Center Road, Harvey Randall Wickes Park on Hospital and McCarty roads, HealthSource Saginaw on Hospital Road and the Sawmill golf development along Sawmill Creek Trail, with Spring Lake Trail and Michael David Drive close by. It covers about a quarter of the township's land. Owner values near $287,000, higher than in any other tract here, and the typical home dates from 1995. FEMA's high-risk flood zone takes about 17% of the land, along the river.

Dale Road and the Weiss Street east end

East of Mackinaw Road between Weiss Street and Shattuck Road, out to the township's east edge past Bay Road: Dale Road, Stoker Drive, the Wexford and Waterford drives and streets named for national parks, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier and Rainier among them. Mackinaw High School, the district's alternative high school, is on Shattuck. The Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center at 1500 Weiss Street sits just across the line, inside the City of Saginaw. Owner values near $146,000, typical home from 1968, and roughly one home in four is in a complex of five or more units. Some addresses here are 48602.

Hemmeter, Weiss and State Street

Between North Center Road and the city line at Passolt Street, from Shattuck Road south past State Street (M-58): Hemmeter Road, Weiss Street, Bradford and Sullivan drives, Weiss and Hemmeter elementary schools, the 8.6-acre Can-Amera Park, Lathrup Park on Monterey Avenue and the North Little League Park. Its typical home dates from 1961, the earliest typical year among the township's tracts, and it held about 2,750 homes at the 2020 Census. Three in four are detached houses, owner values sit near $158,000, and about a third of the homes carry 48638 addresses.

Berberovich Park and Wieneke Road

West of North Center Road over to Wieneke Road, from Shattuck Road south across State Street: Slatestone and Cobblestone drives, Wenonah and Seminole lanes, Mitchell Street and the Nottingham drives, with the 3.1-acre Berberovich Park on Lessandro Street, which keeps an ice rink in winter. Four in five homes are detached houses and owners outnumber renters more than six to one. Owner values near $209,000, typical home from 1971.

Oaklawn Park and Santa Anita Drive

Between Wieneke and Hospital roads around Weiss Street, where State Street (M-58) begins at Midland Road: streets that borrow the names of horse tracks, Santa Anita, Aqueduct, Pimlico, Churchill and Gulfstream among them, plus Oaklawn Park and Ambassador Drive. Renters outnumber owners about three to two and about 35% of the homes sit in larger apartment buildings of five units and up. Owner values near $165,000, typical home from 1977.

Saginaw Country Club and Westdale

East of Center Road on both sides of Gratiot Road (M-46), out to Benton Road at the City of Saginaw line: the Saginaw Country Club off Belair Drive, Westdale Elementary on South Center Road and streets such as Golfview Drive, Hannum Boulevard and Westchester Road. More than nine in ten homes are detached houses and owners outnumber renters about fifteen to one. Owner values near $216,000, higher than in any other tract east of Center Road, typical home from 1966. Some addresses are 48602, a ZIP code that is mostly the city's.

White Pine, Fox Glen and Lawndale

West of Center Road from State Street south across Gratiot Road: White Pine Middle School on North Center, Arrowwood Elementary on Seidel Road, Burkhaven Park, and the Saginaw Township Playscape on Lawndale Road behind Walmart, rebuilt in 2026. Fox Glen, Colony and Cranbrook drives mix houses with apartment complexes: owners and renters are about even, and about 44% of the housing is in buildings with five units or more. It held close to 3,000 homes in 2020, the most of any tract here. Owner values near $177,000, typical home from 1976. FEMA maps about 29% of its land, the part toward the Tittabawassee, as high-risk flood zone.

West Michigan Avenue and the riverfront

The south end along West Michigan Avenue and South Center Road, down to the Tittabawassee: the township's wastewater plant, West Michigan Park with its fishing pier and kayak launch, the 18-acre Leonard Boers III Riverfront Park and boat launch, Sandhill Park on Vincent Street and the Rudy Zauel little league park on Augustine Street, among streets such as Pius, Pacelli and Joseph and the Arboretum and Pheasant Run drives. Owner values near $134,000 are the lowest of the township's tracts, the typical home dates from 1972, about 43% of its housing units are in complexes of five or more, and FEMA's high-risk zone covers about half its land.

Schools and commute

Schools

All of Saginaw Township lies in Saginaw Township Community Schools. The Census Bureau's district map puts every acre of the township, and every one of its 19,989 homes at the 2020 Census, inside the district, and Michigan Treasury's 2025 millage table lists no other district for the township. The district's eight buildings all sit in the township: Arrowwood, Hemmeter, Sherwood, Weiss and Westdale elementary schools, White Pine Middle School and Heritage High School on Center Road, and Mackinaw High School, an alternative high school on Shattuck Road. Federal data count 4,548 students in the 2024 to 2025 school year. With one district, every township homestead paid the same 37.62 mills in 2025. On the township's 2026 table the district's homestead levies are 1.40 mills for its 2008 debt and 0.98 for a 2019 sinking fund, and its 18 operating mills fall only on non-homestead property. Voters turned down a $94.2 million bond on May 5, 2026, the district's third bond defeat in three years, and in June the board said it would not put a new one on the November ballot. A Saginaw address outside the township can sit in another district entirely, Saginaw Public School District in the city among them.

Commute

I-675 runs along the township's east side, with an exit at Tittabawassee Road for Fashion Square Mall, and loops through downtown Saginaw back to I-75. State Street is M-58 from Midland Road east to the city line at Passolt Street, Gratiot Road is M-46, Midland Road is M-47 and Bay Road is M-84. From Township Hall at 4980 Shattuck Road, outside rush hour: the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center about 3 miles (8 minutes), Fashion Square Mall about 4 (9), Covenant Medical Center Harrison about 5 (11), Saginaw City Hall about 6 (10), MyMichigan Medical Center Saginaw, the former Ascension St. Mary's, about 6 (12), Saginaw Valley State University about 6.5 (13), MBS International Airport about 9 (18), Bay City about 15 (27), Midland and Frankenmuth about 21 (30 each) and Flint about 43 (52). The township's 2023 annual financial report lists Morley Companies (about 4,400 jobs), the Saginaw Intermediate School District (690), HealthSource Saginaw (621), Consumers Energy (525) and the township schools (521) among its principal employers, and Covenant HealthCare broke ground in 2026 on a $25 million orthopedic center on Tittabawassee Road. Census figures put the average trip to work near 22 minutes, with about one worker in eleven working from home.

Michigan property taxes

Saginaw Township property taxes after you buy

The year after a Michigan home sells, its taxable value resets to half of the assessor's market value, so the seller's tax bill is not your tax bill.

In Saginaw Township, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 29% the year after a sale. On a $175,000 home, near the typical Saginaw Township value, that is roughly $750 more in first-year tax at the local median homestead millage. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Saginaw Township address? Our Michigan property tax calculator finds that property's published 2025 millage and works out the tax to plan for after you buy.

How Michigan taxable value works

In Samantha's words

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

2025 tax rates

What a homestead paid on each side of the line

Michigan Treasury's 2025 homestead totals for the township and its neighbors, and beside each, how much taxable value typically climbs once a home changes hands, per our 2026 Uncapping Study. One mill is $1 of tax for each $1,000 of taxable value.

Saginaw Township: 37.62 mills

One school district, so one total for every homestead, and a jump at sale near 29%. On the township's 2026 table its own levy is 8.41 mills, 5.40 of them for police and 2.10 for fire.

City of Saginaw: 52.62 mills

About 15 mills more, roughly $1,500 a year on $100,000 of taxable value, before the city's 1.5% income tax on residents. The jump at sale runs near 48%.

Thomas Township: 33.50 to 37.53 mills

Along the township's west line, split among Freeland, Hemlock and Swan Valley schools, with a jump at sale near 32%.

Kochville Township: 32.64 to 42.76 mills

North across Tittabawassee Road, home to Saginaw Valley State University and many 48604 addresses. The 42.76 figure is its Saginaw Public School District part. Jump at sale near 41%.

Carrollton Township: 49.65 mills

Along the east edge of the township's north half, with its own Carrollton School District and the largest share of 48604 homes. Jump at sale near 58%.

A township rental: 55.62 mills

The non-homestead total, 18 mills above a residence. Owner-occupants avoid it with a principal residence exemption affidavit, Form 2368, filed with the township assessor by June 1 to count on that year's July bill.

Local resources

Check Saginaw Township records yourself

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

Saginaw Township Assessor, for parcel records and current taxable value
Saginaw Township Community Schools, for district boundaries and enrollment
Saginaw County Equalization, for county property tax records

Due diligence

Settle these before the inspection period ends

Most of these take a phone call or a few minutes online.

Township or city. Run the address through the Census geocoder, which names the city or township and the school district, then pull the parcel on SAGA, the free Saginaw Area GIS site the township assessor points to.
The flood map. Search the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. The township's floodplain page explains that only an elevation certificate from a licensed surveyor settles whether a building is in or out of the high-risk zone, and that work costing more than half of a flood-zone building's value brings the whole building up to current flood rules.
Water, sewer and backups. Ask the Department of Public Services which sewer district serves the street and whether the house is connected, and read the township's sewer backup page on Public Act 222 claims before you price a sewer backup rider.
Open balances. The Treasurer's office collects both tax bills and the special assessments, and can say what is paid and what is still open.
Your exemption. File the principal residence exemption with the assessor's office by June 1 so it counts on that year's July bill. Under Public Act 141 of 2022, an owner who moved in before June 1 and filed late can still get a corrected bill.
A mobile home's title. Find out whether the land is owned or leased and how the home is titled before you settle on a loan. The CFPB explains why the title decides the financing.
A well or septic system. If the parcel is not on township utilities, the Saginaw County Health Department's mortgage evaluation reports on the well and the septic system. For a system put in without a permit, generally before March 1975, the drain field's four corners have to be uncovered first.

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Saginaw Township mortgage questions

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

Is every Saginaw, MI address in Saginaw Township?

No, and the ZIP code is a strong hint. At the 2020 Census all but a few dozen of the homes in ZIP code 48603 were in the township, and so were about 99% of those in 48638. ZIP code 48602 runs the other way: about 97% of its homes are in the City of Saginaw and under 3% in the township. ZIP code 48604 is mostly Carrollton and Kochville townships and the City of Zilwaukee, with only about 5% of its homes in Saginaw Township. All four print Saginaw on the envelope. The Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center at 1500 Weiss Street, for one, has a 48602 address and sits inside the city. The parcel record, not the mailing address, shows which unit taxes the home.

How much do taxes differ between the township and the City of Saginaw?

In 2025 a homestead in Saginaw Township paid 37.62 mills and one in the City of Saginaw paid 52.62, a difference of about $1,500 a year on each $100,000 of taxable value. The city also taxes income. Saginaw is one of 24 Michigan cities on Treasury’s list of income tax cities, which names no townships, and it charges residents 1.5% and nonresidents 0.75%, so a township resident who works in the city pays the nonresident share on wages earned there. The calendars differ too: the township collects its July bill without penalty through September 14, and the city’s July bill is due July 31.

Which school district taxes a Saginaw Township home?

Saginaw Township Community Schools, for every home in the township. In the Census Bureau’s maps the district and the township cover the same ground, so there is no split inside the township to check, and every homestead paid the same 37.62 mills in 2025. The question matters for a Saginaw address outside the township: by 2020 Census counts, ZIP code 48604 is divided mainly between Saginaw Public School District and Carrollton schools, and 48602 is almost all Saginaw Public School District. Township voters rejected a $94.2 million school bond in May 2026, and the board has said it will not put a bond on the November 2026 ballot.

When does a Saginaw Township house need flood insurance?

When it sits in FEMA’s mapped high-risk zone, which our sample of the map puts on about 11% of the township’s land, nearly all of it beside the Tittabawassee River on the south and west sides. It covers about half the land in the tract along West Michigan Avenue, close to 30% of the White Pine and Lawndale area and about 17% of the west side, and none of the five tracts that lie wholly east of Center Road. About 4% of the township’s homes sit on Census blocks centered in the zone, and about 4% more in the moderate 0.2% annual chance area. The current maps took effect August 15, 2023. A mortgage on a home inside that zone usually comes with a flood insurance requirement, and policies written in the township get FEMA’s 15% community discount. After the May 2020 dam failures upstream, FEMA’s disaster declaration DR-4547 covered Saginaw County, so get the seller’s written answer on whether water reached the house.

Is a Saginaw Township house on public water and sewer?

Ask the township’s Department of Public Services for the specific parcel. It runs about 248 miles of water main and buys Lake Huron water, drawn near Whitestone Point, from the City of Saginaw’s system, and it says the township has no lead water mains or lead service lines. Sewage is collected in four districts: the Northeast and Weiss Street districts drain to the City of Saginaw’s treatment plant, and the Southwest and Center Road districts to the township’s own plant on West Michigan Avenue, which also treats Thomas Township’s wastewater and is in the first phase of a $16.5 million upgrade. Since January 26, 2026 usage costs $5.09 per 1,000 gallons for water and $3.60 for sewer, plus a readiness to serve charge. A house on a private well or septic system falls under the Saginaw County Health Department, which offers an evaluation for buyers and lenders.

Are there special assessments on a Saginaw Township tax bill?

One is on every bill. The township’s 2.1-mill fire protection levy is charged as a special assessment, about $210 a year on $100,000 of taxable value. Others can attach to a single parcel, and the assessor notes that the township’s BS&A online records show special assessments along with utility billing, building permits and zoning violations. The Treasurer’s office collects special assessment levies, so ask it or the title company for any open balance before closing, and ask the Department of Public Services for a final water bill in the seller’s name.

Can I get a mortgage on a mobile home in Saginaw Township?

Sometimes. The assessor counts 848 mobile home units in the township, and the Census puts about 675 of them in the tract north of McCarty Road around Lakecress Drive. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that a manufactured home is generally titled as real estate only when it sits on a permanent foundation on land its owner holds, and that a home titled as personal property is generally financed with a chattel loan, which many mortgage lenders do not make. Tell us early whether the land comes with the home, because that answer decides which loans are possible before price or credit do.

What changes if I rent the house out later?

The tax bill, first. Once the house stops being your principal residence, the bill picks up the school operating millage, and in 2025 the township’s non-homestead total was 55.62 mills against 37.62 for a residence, about $1,800 more a year on each $100,000 of taxable value. The assessor’s office asks owners to file a request to rescind the exemption within 90 days of moving out. Before you advertise the home, ask the Community Development Department whether the unit needs a license or an inspection.

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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.