What Does $400,000 Get You In Brighton Michigan? Brighton, Michigan is one of the most desirable cities to live in southeast Michigan, and I’m not just saying that because I lived there for over 20+ years. From their schools, downtown area and community feel, to the parks and great location, this city truly has everything you could possibly need and more. So with that being said, I’m going to break down 5 homes in 5 different price ranges, all under $400,000 to give you a good idea of how far you can stretch your dollar in the great city of Brighton, let’s get to it.
There’s a million great things I could say about Brighton, Michigan, but I don’t want to veer away from why you clicked on this video so I will link several videos I’ve done about Brighton in the description from things to know about Brighton Michigan, reasons to live in Brighton Michigan, a map tour of Brighton Michigan and even the best coffee places in Brighton Michigan, so be sure to add a few of those videos to your queue.
HOME #1
Starting off with the cheapest home on the market in Brighton twp. right now, located between Grand river and I-96 in the Helfer subdivision primely located near downtown Brighton. This $69,900 condo, which is a co-op or cooperative so it’s cash only as they are units owned by an organization and sold as shares to the residents. All occupants share costs of upkeep, maintenance and shared amenities across all of its memberships. This home has 2 bedrooms, 1 and a half bathrooms with 900 total finished square feet, no garage, 1 assigned parking spot with the ability to get more and it was built in 1968.
This condo is perfect for anyone 50 and over who wants to get into Brighton at a cheap price without worrying about a hefty mortgage payment. This condo does come with an association fee of $570 a month, which is pretty typical for cooperatives, as the fee includes snow removal, insurance, gas, maintenance structure, maintenance grounds, trash and water.
Taking a look at some of these images, the huge perk to this home is it’s on all sports woodruff lake, so the back door and windows have quite a nice view during all seasons, the home has the bare minimum so the upkeep is minimal from the kitchen and the eating area, to the walk in closet and basement with washer and dryer. It’s not anything too amazing and gives off an apartment feel, but like I said, it’s a cheaper option for someone over 50 years old who wants a lake view without worrying about home maintenance so much.
HOME #2
Moving over to home #2 on the list, located north of I-96 and west of Us- 23 in woodland lake estates in the northern part of Brighton twp. within the Howell school district, this $150,000 manufactured home on land, has 3 bedrooms 1 and a half bathrooms, with over 1200 total finished square feet, with a 1 car detached garage on .21 acres and was built in 1966. This is a cheaper option for anyone looking to be stationed between Howell and Brighton, while having the luxury of getting lake access to woodland lake. This has a $150 a year association fee which I would assume would cover the lake access, boat launch upkeep, key access. Etc.
Taking a look at some of the images, it’s not extremely outdated by any means, it actually looks like the owner did some flooring, updated the bathrooms a little bit, it also has a basement and a screened in back porch. Opportunities like this are pretty far and between since this isn’t your typical home in the area, so for anyone looking to be in this desirable area, this is a very affordable way to do it.
HOME #3
Stepping onto home #3, located between Brighton and Howell again in Genoa twp., which is a township that covers parts of Brighton and Howell, this home is technically in Howell within the Hartland school district in the RED OAKS OF CHEMUNG subdivision. This $265,000 cape cod has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, with just under 1200 square feet on a slab with no garage, situated on ,32 acres and built in 2020. This is another affordable option for anyone looking to be a little more off the beaten path and not so much in the middle of the city.
Taking a look at some of the images, everything looks to be pretty fresh and clean as it should be for being built in 2020. It has a very open concept, the staging definitely does the home some justice. They utilized a lot of neutral tones so any homebuyer can jump right in and make it their own. It actually seems fairly spacious for not even being 1200 square feet. It’s got a great backyard that has a new shed in it and backs up to the woods for privacy, a little slab to do some grilling and entertaining off the back door wall. Not a bad little home, it’s been on the market for a little bit so there should definitely be some wiggle room in that price tag.
HOME #4
Moving over to home #4 on the list, located south of downtown Brighton west of Us-23 in the scenic pointe subdivision, this 2 bedroom, 2 and a half bathroom condo with just over 15,00 finished square feet, not including the 900 square foot unfinished basement, with a one car attached garage was built in 2022. Taking a look at the images, it has a very open concept that’s trending these days, with neutral tones, staged better than any normal person could do of course, this home has large rooms, a wide open unfinished basement that could be finished of course, and taking a look outside this property has the condo set up where two are attached and standalone so you’re not feeling the person in the middle getting noise from both sides, which is a plus. I personally think they had a little bit of extra space so they squeaked these two units in, because it’s not the norm for the community, but nonetheless, these units show incredibly well, I have actually showed a few during their early stages, and this one has a view of a pond, which is a nice touch as well. This community has an association fee of $200 a month, which I would assume would come with maintenance of the grounds and snow removal.
HOME #5
Last but not least, home #5, located just west of downtown Brighton off of Brighton road in walnut hills. This $399,999 contemporary home with 3 bedrooms, 2 and a half bathrooms with an estimated 3,936 total finished square footage with a 3 car attached garage situated on 1.19 acres was built in 1995. In the nicest way possible, these have to be some of the worst listing photos I have ever seen. I understand it may be a horrible situation with the need to move and sell fast based on the belongings hanging around, but there should be some more effort put into making this home present better, but I digress. Pictures aside, this home looks like it has had years and years of neglect, but the potential in this property is off the charts. It’s a great location, great sized home, on over an acre, and it’s marketed to investors to bring this home back to life, because any home of this size in this location would go for well over $500,000.
I hope this list of 5 homes in 5 different price ranges helped give you an idea of the affordability in Brighton, Michigan. As you could see there’s quite a large range, but the most common price tags are between $337,000 and $472,000 according to this chart provided by the MLS based on January 2023 data, it shows the whole MLS in blue, the city of brighton in green, Brighton twp. in yellow and genoa twp. in red. This is the 3 year progression of the average sale price. And as you can see the city of brighton has a cheaper price point whereas the township as whole is nearly $140,000 more.
After following along and seeing all five home options in five different prices ranges under $400,000, what are your thoughts about Brighton and affordability? Drop your thoughts in the comments below. If you want me to do more videos like this in other cities throughout southeast Michigan, comment what cities I should do next in the comments below as well!
MENTIONED VIDEOS ⬇️
→The Actual Cost of Living In Brighton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCvuI4QSWTw&t=0s
→What To Know About Brighton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1M9RkiuUfE&t=0s
→What SE Michigan City Is Better?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCvuI4QSWTw&t=0s
→Reasons To Live In Brighton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Kc5oII6qM&t=0s
→Brighton's Best Coffee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BaA28lukeA&t=0s
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.