Wixom Michigan - A Hidden Gem Of Metro Detroit: Is Wixom Michigan one of those hidden gem cities in Metro Detroit? That question and many more are going to be answered, right now!
Wixom has always been that place growing up for me, where we’d simply get off at the “Wixom exit” when traveling along I-96, and even as a Michigander myself, if that exit wasn’t named Wixom or I didn’t play Roller hockey at Total Sports Complex as a kid, I probably wouldn’t have any idea the city existed, and many of the state’s current residents have that same mentality, and it wasn’t up until a few years ago where I truly understood what the city had to offer, hence why it’s a hidden gem among other reasons. Novi, Milford, Farmington, Northville, and Brighton were always a part of the conversation for anyone relocating to the state of Michigan, but no matter how big their home search radius was, Wixom was still never a part of that conversation even though it was in the middle of it all. Well, I am going to make it a part of this one.
Like I said, Wixom is located right off of I-96 between Milford, Novi, Commerce township and South Lyon. The city covers roughly 9.36 square miles and has a population of just over 17,000 people. A lot of people think this city is newer, and refer to it as “Novi’s little sibling” because Novi is such a high traffic area and popular destination not just for shopping, but for the providence healthcare system as well. In Reality, both cities were first settled in the 1830’s, and actually get a long better than most siblings believe it or not. Wixom is a cornerstone for the manufacturing and production industries in Oakland county, while the Novi area is more about a shopping experience. With all that being said, it’s no secret that Wixom has a great centralized location to a lot of those nearby cities I mentioned, an easy commute to I-96, all while having a 35 mile or so commute to downtown Detroit.
But. don’t let the manufacturing and production aspect scare you, the city of wixom has done a great job creating a one of a kind downtown space for their residents that’s truly unlike any other. No it’s not extravagantly large by any means, but it has everything you could ever need and just a little more. On the other hand, it’s not like it’s this way out in the country with one restaurant and one gas station for miles and miles. This city has enough nearby amenities that it would be difficult to complain. If you ever have a chance to walk around Sibley square park and see the fountains across the street on Center blvd, it’s a great experience. On top of that, there’s a strip of restaurants nearby that include anything from your typical American cuisine to Italian, Mediterranean, and of course the bar food scene with several neighborhoods consisting of apartments, condos and single family homes being in close proximity.
As far as the home prices go, Wixom falls right in the middle of the nearby communities. Taking a look at this chart provided by the MLS showing the 3 year progression of home prices, we have Wixom (in blue), Novi (in green), Milford (in yellow), and South Lyon (in red). Wixom and Milford share very similar price points as they intertwine over the last few years, whereas South Lyon comes in much lower and Novi comes in much higher. As of recording this, there are only 17 homes for sale in the city of Wixom, so just to give you some more visuals, I’ll show you the cheapest home along with the most expensive to give you an idea of how far you can stretch your dollar.
Starting off with the cheapest home just over $229,000, we have this second level 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo located right off of Wixom road between w maple road and Pontiac trail. It has 1,125 finished square feet, no basement, a one car garage, a commons area with a pool, and no basement, built in 2006. Taking a look at these images, there’s not that “oooh ahh” factor by any means, but it has brand new carpet, it’s freshly painted, and has a very spacious living area, despite the smaller sized kitchen. There’s also an association fee of $230/month that includes: Grounds Maintenance , Snow removal, Sewer and internet.
Taking a look at the most expensive home on the market right now in Wixom, we have this $575,000 new construction home with 4 bedrooms, 2,5 bathrooms, 2,490 finished square feet, with a basement and a 3 car garage. Located north of w maple road off of wixom road, near the Wixom habit park, this home is move in ready in the Walled lake school district. This home has a $400 HOA fee, but it doesn’t state exactly what that covers.
Another notable thing to keep in mind whether you’re looking to move to the area or potentially look into some investment opportunities, Wixom is fairly even in the rent to own ratio. There’s actually 51% of the residents that are renting versus owning, so if you’re thinking of a good area to invest, consider looking into the Wixom area, because rentals are not that uncommon, and with these rankings from Niche.com, it further supports the opportunity. Wixom ranked #30 out of 337 best suburbs for young professionals in Michigan, #33 out of 337 most diverse suburbs in Michigan and #61 out of 815 best places for young professionals in Michigan.
Taking a look at the overall grade given to Wixom based on public schools, housing, jobs, cost of living, outdoor activities, crime and safety, nightlife, diversity, weather, health and fitness along with commute, Wixom earned an A. The only notable reason it wasn’t an A+ is because the weather was rated at a C+, which is pretty typical for most Michigan city rankings because you either love the weather or you hate it, there never seems to be an in between, people either like dry and hot year around or appreciate this state for having 4 distinct seasons.
Some other notable things about the city of Wixom are the city events. Like I have said, Wixom was always this “backburner” city in my mind for several years, but the city itself has a better event calendar than many of the desirable cities in the southeast Michigan area. Anything from skate nights and Michigan winery bus tours to family fun nights and a summer concert series, this little town does a pretty good job at maintaining a community feel, despite it being known to be a manufacturing and industrial area. I’ll be sure to link their event calendar in the description so you can get a good idea of what the city is all about! A lot of the events begin and take place at the community center, but they can also find themselves in their 132 acres of community parks or 300 acres of protected nature preserves.
Wixom also has some top ranking schools to keep in mind. Since they utilize the school of choice program, there are 6 walled lake school district schools that serve Wixom students, but don’t lie within the city limits and those schools are: Walled lake western, walled lake central, James Geisler middle school, walnut creek middle school, walled lake elementary, glengarry elementary, and St. Catherine of Siena Academy.
Another resource I'll link in the description is the Wixom parks and recreation master plan that thoroughly dishes out everything there is to know about Wixom, from maps and city offerings, to their budgets and goals going forward. Just some quick insight to that, the main goal for this city is to create more connectivity to residential neighborhoods and continue to build the community up. One of their properties going forward, in response to high demand, is to continue to develop the bike and walking paths to better the connections between neighborhoods to create more safety, and ease of transportation. This is something very important to prioritize, because in my opinion a city and downtown area doesn’t truly have that “close knit” feeling until there are sidewalks in every direction full of people walking out and about. Otherwise, it would just feel like a main road that no one would want to walk on the side of.
So why exactly is it fair to tie Wixom to being a hidden gem? Well, there’s several reasons, and the one that really sticks out is the city is almost a one stop shop. Most of the great cities across metro Detroit that I cover have amazing downtown areas but lack job opportunities, or they are like Troy, where the job opportunities are overwhelming, but the downtown and community aspect lack a little bit, or they tend to have a little bit of both, but the location and commute times aren’t the greatest.
Wixom tends to have it all in under 10 square miles. It has a little downtown area, parks and recreation, job opportunities, new developments happening all over the place to put you at ease knowing the local economy is strong, and its location to great nearby cities and expressways is perfect. All that while not having home prices be way out in left field and unaffordable, as that tends to be the case with cities that have a lot to offer. The next reason is it’s a city that no one talks about, it’s so unbelievable under the radar that it is hidden by definition. Does that mean no one likes the city for a reason? Not necessarily, there’s just never too many homes for sale which means the residents are staying for the long haul, along with the rentals getting scooped up relatively quick. Does this current lack of demand mean the city is going to plummet faster than the crypto market? I can’t see that happening just based on the location alone. If anything, it becomes an affordable option to be close to cities like Northville and Novi.
With all that in mind, what are your thoughts about Wixom? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
MENTIONED LINKS 🔗
→Wixom Michigan Events: https://bit.ly/3UZ1afm
→Wixom Michigan History: https://bit.ly/3gnxObJ
→Wixom Parks & Rec Plan: https://bit.ly/3TQKS7b
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.