The story of this market
The typical home in Van Buren County, Michigan sells for about $253,000, or $182 per square foot.
Prices are up +2.8% from a year ago, so sellers still have some momentum. Homes take about 65 days to sell, which is slow. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 142% since 2000. Last year 18 of 22 neighborhoods saw prices rise, so the story isn't the same street to street. The biggest natural hazard here is hail, which FEMA rates relatively high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $1,040 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $1,040 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively Low.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
+5.1%
2025
Each stripe is one year's median price change across the area's census tracts (FHFA repeat-sales index). Deep blue is a strong gain year, red a falling year. Best: 2022 (+15.5%). Worst: 2010 (-5.2%). Hover to read a year.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
+4.5%
MI · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Rent benchmark
Fair market rent by size
$1,370
3-bed / month
HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal 2027, for this county. A typical rent for a modest unit, used to set housing-voucher payments.
Neighborhood price trend
Long-run price trend, 2000–2025
+5.1%
2025 change
FHFA repeat-sales index, median of 22 census tracts in this county (2000 = 100). Bars are each year's median change.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
35
Relatively Low
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $20,429,398.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
78.6%
2018 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 3568 | 2055 | 78.6% | 1.8% | $165,000 |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
Van Buren County, Michigan
Van Buren County's residential real estate environment remains balanced to cautiously optimistic, buoyed by solid equity retention and durable interest in Lake Michigan second homes and Kalamazoo-commuter neighborhoods. Limited housing inventory and elevated mortgage rates have stabilized median prices while elongating days on market relative to peak pandemic velocity.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 14 cities · 15 ZIP reports
Median prices moved up 5.2% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 21 days on market with 0.8 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
16% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 42.7% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 4.2% · poverty 14.3% — a stable, low-distress profile.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Aggregate published statistics for this county — never individual records, and never an attribute of any individual property or resident.
Deterministic aggregate of 14 researched ZIP reports of 15 — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
Van Buren County, Michigan — researched county-level history with a deterministic 1 / 3 / 5-year projection
Solid: researched ten-year history · dotted: 1 / 3 / 5-year projection extended from the historical 7.0%/yr trend — a deterministic estimate, not a published forecast or guarantee.
No researched properties in this county yet — the property base layer populates as property research runs, and each property feeds its ZIP's roll-up.
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 19
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 22
researched Sep 22
| 49013 | Bangor | $212,000 | $146 | +17.8% | 31 | — | — | — | 45 | $979 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49026 | Bloomingdale | $265,000 | $168 | +4.2% | 20 | 98.5% | 12.5% | 2.4 | 142 | $956 | researched Sep 19 |
| 49027 | Breedsville | $303,750 | $168 | -6.5% | 37 | 98.5% | 17% | 1.2 | 484 | $1,400 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49043 | Covert | $215,000 | $164 | +7.4% | 36 | — | — | — | 823 | $725 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49045 | Decatur | $215,000 | $178 | +7.4% | 13 | 98.7% | 40.6% | 1.7 | 823 | $838 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49055 | Gobles | $315,000 | $168 | +5% | 20 | — | — | — | — | $888 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49056 | Grand Junction | $288,106 | $164 | +7% | 23 | — | — | 2.1 | 787 | $1,300 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49057 | Hartford | $319,759 | $178 | +7.1% | 10 | — | — | — | 176 | $816 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49062 | Kendall | $320,000 | $169 | +11.7% | 39 | 99.5% | — | 1.7 | 50 | $1,475 | researched Sep 22 |
| 49064 | Lawrence | $303,750 | $168 | +7.3% | 37 | 98.7% | 17% | 1.7 | 484 | $618 | researched Sep 22 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
Reported crime in Van Buren County tracks below statewide urban averages, though property crime and sporadic theft elevate rates within denser commercial corridors such as Paw Paw and South Haven. Rural townships experience minimal violent crime, maintaining safety metrics broadly consistent with neighboring southwest Michigan counties.
Public education is served by multiple local community school districts overseen by the Van Buren Intermediate School District (VBISD). Performance ranges from above-average academic achievement and strong community backing in South Haven, Mattawan, and Paw Paw to moderate proficiency scores in rural districts like Bangor and Hartford.
Primary environmental exposures include localized inland lake and river flooding along the Black and Paw Paw River basins, winter heavy lake-effect snowfall, and severe windstorms off Lake Michigan. Coastal bluff erosion and elevated storm-surge impacts periodically threaten shoreline residential properties in the western portion of the county.
Economic expansion is anchored by the planned repowering of the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, specialty agriculture and food processing, and a robust seasonal lakeshore tourism corridor along Lake Michigan. Infrastructure enhancements along I-94 and US-131 corridors continue to bolster distribution and light manufacturing ties toward Kalamazoo.
Under Michigan's Proposal A, property taxable value increases are capped annually at the rate of inflation or 5% (whichever is less) until property ownership transfers. Property owners in primary residences benefit from Michigan's Principal Residence Exemption (PRE), which exempts up to 18 mills of local school operating property taxes.
Residents enjoy premier freshwater recreation along the Lake Michigan shoreline, Van Buren State Park, the Kal-Haven Trail, and the Van Buren Trail State Park. The county also boasts numerous inland recreation lakes, winery tasting rooms along the Lake Michigan Shore AVA, and local golf courses.
The rental inventory displays sharp bifurcation between seasonal vacation rentals along South Haven's Lake Michigan coast and year-round multi-family or detached rentals inland. Median long-term rents hover near $1,500 monthly, with tighter occupancy in commuter hubs near Kalamazoo such as Mattawan and Antwerp Township.
Van Buren County's economy relies on agriculture (specializing in blueberries, grapes, fruit orchards, and winemaking), specialty food manufacturing, lakeshore leisure tourism, and energy generation. Proximity to Kalamazoo creates significant commuter flows toward healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and higher-education employment sectors.
Major surface transport corridors include Interstate 94 connecting Detroit and Chicago, US-131 accessing Grand Rapids to the east, and M-43 and M-140 serving cross-county transit. Amtrak passenger rail service is available at the Bangor station along the Pere Marquette route between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
County planning emphasizes the preservation of farmland and sensitive environmental corridors alongside targeted light-industrial and logistics clustering along the I-94 corridor near Paw Paw, Hartford, and Mattawan.
Property valuation is administered by local township and city assessors overseen by the Van Buren County Equalization Department. Assessments determine Assessed Value at 50% of true cash market value, while Taxable Value increases remain limited by Michigan Proposal A until an arm's-length ownership transfer occurs.
Parcels are subject to school district millages, intermediate school district (VBISD) levies, countywide library districts, and Southwestern Michigan College or Lake Michigan College community college taxing jurisdictions depending on parcel boundaries.
Homeowners insurance markets are generally stable across inland parcels, though properties directly fronting Lake Michigan face higher premium tiers and restricted availability due to shoreline storm damage, erosion, and high-water impacts.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
Spans roughly 400 acres along Lake Michigan, offering extensive sandy dunes, beach frontage, modern campgrounds, and woodland hiking trails that attract regional visitors year-round.
A 33-mile crushed limestone non-motorized trail linking South Haven to Kalamazoo, highly utilized for bicycling, jogging, cross-country skiing, and heritage tourism.
Iconic Lake Michigan public beach featuring historical pier walks, lighthouse access, and park pavilions, acting as the community anchor for South Haven's downtown coastal tourism.
Offers maritime heritage exhibits, tall-ship excursions on the Friends Good Will, and cultural programming celebrating regional Great Lakes history.
Retrieved from Census Bureau ACS 5-year profiles and QuickFacts for Van Buren County, Michigan (FIPS 26159).
applies when — Real property owned and used as a homestead by a disabled veteran or their surviving spouse.
Provides an exemption from property taxes levied for school operating purposes and potentially other local taxes depending on eligibility.
MCL 211.7b
applies when — Delinquency in real property tax payments.
A three-year forfeiture and foreclosure process. Property is forfeited to the county treasurer after two years of delinquency. If taxes remain unpaid by March 31 of the third year, the property is foreclosed upon by the Foreclosing Governmental Unit.
General Property Tax Act, Public Act 206 of 1893; MCL 211.78k
applies when — Transfer of interest in real estate consisting of not less than 1 or more than 4 residential dwelling units.
Sellers must provide a written disclosure statement to prospective buyers regarding the condition of the property, including known defects.
Seller Disclosure Act, Act 92 of 1993
Property is assessed at 50% of true cash value (State Equalized Value). Taxable value is capped at the lesser of the state equalized value or the previous year's taxable value adjusted by the consumer price index (up to 5%), unless a transfer of ownership occurs. The tax is calculated by multiplying the taxable value by the local millage rate.
General Property Tax Act, Public Act 206 of 1893
Governance registry — every jurisdiction re-researches on a rolling 90-day cycle. Property reports compose these inherited burdens into a per-parcel ledger with conditional determinations. Informational only — not legal advice.