So you’re thinking about making the move to West Bloomfield Michigan or maybe you just want to know what there’s areas all about? Stick around, because I’m touching on the good, bad and ugly. Let’s get to it.
Before we take a dive into what you clicked on this video for, I want to give you a little geography lesson just to put more context into the points I am going to touch on.
West Bloomfield is a township located in Oakland county, east of commerce township, west of Bloomfield hills, south of Four Towns, and north of Farmington hills. I have made videos about all those surrounding cities and townships so I will be sure to link all those in the description so you can add them to your queue. The area of west Bloomfield twp. covers about 31.2 square miles, and nearly 4 of those square miles are water, which is definitely out of the norm in the best way possible, hence why residents refer to this spot as the lake township of Oakland county. This area has a population of over 66,000 people which comes out to be around 2400 people per square mile. That’s a little tight, but for several of the houses being on a lake, it actually makes sense.
Now that the geography lesson is over, let’s touch on the pros of living in the wonderful place we call west Bloomfield twp.
PRO #1 - THE EDUCATION
Starting off with #1, we have education. This place has got several options when it comes to schooling to say the least. Taking a look at this School district map for west Bloomfield twp. You can see all the different colors on this map of the various school districts that sprinkle into this area such as Birmingham, Bloomfield, Farmington, Pontiac, Waterford, west Bloomfield, and of course walled lake There are some school of choice options to look into as well for each school district. West Bloomfield twp. is home to some of the best public schools in Michigan, and the top ranking education doesn’t end there. The West Bloomfield township public library is a recipient of the national medal which is the nation's highest honor for libraries so it’s safe to say it’s pretty top notch. In reference to one of my recent videos where I sat down with Michigan Assessor, Christine Lucian, she talked about how the school district you live in will significantly impact your property taxes, so be sure to be aware of that when you’re scoping out some areas to live within the township, and of course feel free to reach out if you need any help doing some calculations, as they range from 31 mills to over 38 mills which could make quite a difference on your tax bill.
PRO #2 - THE LAKES
Stepping over to pro #2, we have the lakes. Like I said, the lake township of Oakland county. If you take a look at an aerial view of west Bloomfield twp., you’ll see quite a few lakes, around 24 to be almost exact, and I say that because the amount of lakes depends on who you talk to as they range from the 5.6 acre private Bloomfield lake to the very public 1,280 acre Cass lake that reaches 123 feet in depth. Some of these lakes are all-sports, others are electric motors only and some allow nothing motorized at all. So if you’re thinking about making the move to the area and your want is to get a double decker pontoon to have parties on every weekend, make sure the lake will actually allow it, and if you’re wanting a peaceful and quiet lake you can paddleboard on without needing to dodge waves, think about what your priorities are. Being as I live right down the street from West Bloomfield twp., I spend a lot of time driving around the lakes and the atmosphere is truly unmatched. It’s a lake town that is built around community, just like any lake is, but the fact there’s so many different lakes here, it gives you the option to truly figure out what lifestyle you want to live. Maybe a huge lake with a nice marina? Or a small lake surrounded by nature, You can find all that here in west Bloomfield twp., and before I jump to the next pro I want to give you a true visual of the wide range of living possibilities by showing you the least expensive home on a lake and the most expensive. As of right now there’s 14 waterfront homes for sale in west Bloomfield twp. from $419,000 to $3.995,000. Taking a look at the cheaper one first, this $419,000 home is located south of Sylvan lake and north of upper long lake, right off of square lake rd., and yes, a lot of lakes nearby will have a lot of street names that end in lake, that’s something you’ll have to accept. This 4 bedroom, 2 and a half bathroom ranch, with over 2,200 finished square feet, Located on .73 acres, is located on private no motor Dollar lake with beach privileges to Hammond lake which is another non-motorized but large 85 acre lake.
Taking a look at some of these images, the home has a nice large driveway, attached garage, and it isn’t too outdated by any means, of course there are some preferential changes you could make throughout your ownership but nothing screams it needs to be done now besides maybe the roof. The basement is finished and made into some more bedroom space, the home has a large back deck and a good view of the water. Moving over to the $3,995,000 cape cod located north of long lake rd and east of orchard lake road. This 5 bedroom, 4 and half bathroom home with nearly 6,200 finished square feet on almost half an acre is on all sports pine lake with 87 feet of water frontage. Taking a look at the images, the home has great curb appeal, a lot of natural light, and a very open layout. This home was built in 1928 so it has that older style architecture to it, but overall it appears to show quite well and the backyard is extremely private and highly desirable to most, and it should be at almost 4 million dollars.
PRO #3 - DESIRABILITY
Moving onto pro #3, we have desirability. West Bloomfield twp is one of (if not the most) desirable lake communities here in southeast Michigan, which makes future resale value a much more positive and confident topic for discussion. Several people I have helped make the move to Michigan always start with the question “how's the resale value? What’s the economy look like in this particular city or area?” and that is a very fair question to ask, especially coming from someone who knows almost nothing about the area and wants to think long term. With that being said, this area has a very strong outlook, and I'm not just saying that because several of the couple hundred thousand dollar cottages over the years have transformed into multi-million dollar properties. The real estate market is strong, the school system is desirable, the location to other great southeast Michigan cities are within reach, and the lakes will forever be a massive selling point to the area. And pro #4 further supports the desirability and that’s the restaurants. Just by taking a stroll down orchard lake rd, you’re hit in the face by several international cuisines from your typical steakhouses and taverns, to middle eastern, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Mexican and so much more. Picking a place to eat out will be extremely overwhelming in the best way possible.
CON #1 - LOCATION
No moving to what you came here for, the cons. Starting off with con #1 we have the location. I touched on the good things about the location from the atmosphere the lake town creates to the area being within reach to several great southeast Michigan cities, but overall, it’s pretty centrally located between M-5, M59 and US-24 or what we call telegraph road. There’s still an additional commute time to reach those on ramps, whereas other nearby cities have the luxury of being much closer.
CON #2 - LACK of downtown
The other downside or what we could call con #2 to living in west Bloomfield is there’s no downtown area, which tends to be the case for lake towns because there really isn’t any room to have them since there’s so many residential homes and neighborhoods surrounding the lakes and nearby communities having the ability to get lake privileges. So if you were looking for a cool small town feel, this may not be the place for you, but I’d argue it’s close enough to other nearby cities to get your fix on downtown life depending on where you find yourself in the township.
CON #3 - LACK OF PRIVACY
Moving over to con #3, we have the space and lack of privacy. And for anyone who has lived on a lake is probably already thinking… well duh, but for those who haven’t, the typical house on a lake is around .15-.2 acres and the homes have been built up so much over the years that they are essentially on the property lines. Of course it really depends on the lake you find yourself on and the amount of money you’re able to spend, but the majority of the time, you’ll find that the average priced waterfront home lacks acreage and privacy, and that could be a dealbreaker to some. And that brings me back to really figuring out what your waterfront living lifestyle looks like, so keep that in mind when you’re going throughout your home search.
CON #4 - COST OF LIVING
Last but not least, we have con #4, the cost of living, specifically home prices. Taking a look at this graph provided by the multiple listing service, I’ll show you how this township compares to the nearby ones. West Bloomfield twp. is in green, commerce twp. is in yellow, white lake twp. is red and the entire MLS in blue, and it’s the 3 year progression of the average sale price. As you can see west Bloomfield comes in at the top with an average sale price of around $461,286 which was a 6.4% increase year over year which is quite a bit higher than the entire MLS overall, whereas the other townships are between $372,000 and $403,000. West Bloomfield twp. is a little bit more desirable, homes are bigger, lakes are better so that reflects on the price tags here, but if you’re someone who wants to live on a lake and doesn’t have a huge budget to work with, it may be worth looking into some of these other areas.
For those of you that know of or have lived in West Bloomfield twp., what are your thoughts? And for you outsiders looking in, is this a place you’d live in? Throw your thoughts in the comments as well.
If you have any buying or selling needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out anytime, I'd be happy to help.
MENTIONED VIDEOS ⬇️
→Pros and Cons Of Living In Bloomfield Hills Michigan: https://youtu.be/hFHtwSePo_c
→What You MUST Know About Commerce Twp Michigan: https://youtu.be/my2YCCdH1l0
→Four Towns Michigan Video: https://youtu.be/V8K9fABF208
→What People Are REALLY Saying About Farmington Hills Michigan: https://youtu.be/l3H_dNURRHM
→Farmington Hills Michigan Vs Novi Video: https://youtu.be/OhrataSP0-U
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew McManamon is a Michigan REALTOR® with Signature Sotheby’s International Realty and provides real estate services to Buyers, Sellers and Investors throughout SE Michigan including Livingston County, Oakland County, Washtenaw County, Genesee County & beyond. Andrew has become one of the rising stars of Michigan real estate agents. Prior to his real estate career Andrew was responsible for managing a senior living facility in Brighton, Michigan as a dining supervisor and an activities assistant. Andrew’s passion to help people is unlike any other, and he continues to strive to be best resource he can be. Andrew graduated from Cleary University in Howell, Michigan with a double major and currently resides in White Lake, Michigan.