Waterfront Market Review · Closed Sales Through July 31, 2026
First Half 2026 Lake St. Clair Waterfront Market Report
A detailed look at waterfront homes priced at $450,000 and above with direct water or canal access—including closed sales, active competition, pending activity, pricing, market time and the transactions shaping the Lake St. Clair market through July 31, 2026.
What Defined the Market
Healthy closing volume—with significant inventory still competing for attention.
The market recorded 55 closed sales through July 31, while 63 properties remained active and 11 were pending. That balance creates opportunity for well-positioned sellers, but it also makes pricing and presentation increasingly important.
Closed pricing remained above the prior full-year median
The regional median sale price was $715,000, with an average of $918,864. As in prior years, a limited number of high-value estate sales pulled the average above the experience of the typical transaction.
Inventory exceeded year-to-date closing volume
There were 63 active waterfront listings compared with 55 closed sales. The median active asking price of $690,000 was close to the $715,000 median sale price, but active listings had accumulated a 59-day median market time.
Negotiation remained part of the market
Closed waterfront properties averaged 93.7% of their original list price. Stronger performance varied by community, with St. Clair Shores and New Baltimore retaining a higher percentage of original asking price than Harrison Township and Chesterfield Township.
Median market time remained more useful than the average
The regional average was 75 days, while the median was 41. Long-running luxury and specialty listings continued to pull the average higher.
First Half 2026 Market Takeaways
Four signals shaping the waterfront market
Closed results remain meaningful, but sellers should also pay attention to the amount, pricing and age of the active competition entering the second half of the year.
Harrison Township remained the volume leader.
It represented 23 closed sales, but also 40 active listings—creating the region’s largest pool of both buyers and competition.
St. Clair Shores showed the strongest list-price retention.
Its 19 closed sales averaged 96.3% of original list price with a 27-day median market time.
Chesterfield’s median sale reached $1 million.
Its nine closed sales also produced the fastest median market time among the major volume markets at 19 days.
The luxury ceiling remained highly property-specific.
Grosse Pointe Park’s two sales averaged $3.275 million, while the broader regional median remained $715,000.
Current Inventory Context
What sellers are competing against now
Active and pending inventory should not be blended into closed-sale averages, but it provides critical context for pricing, timing and the strength of the current buyer pool.
Waterfront Community Comparison
Closed sales, active competition and pending activity
Sold metrics are calculated only from closed transactions. Active and pending counts are shown separately to provide current market context without distorting closed-sale performance.
Market | Sold | Active | Pending | Avg. sale | Median sale | Avg. sold $/SF | Median DOM | Sale / original list | Highest sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harrison Township Canal, river, channel and direct lakefront | 23 | 40 | 7 | $808,987 | $655,000 | $303 | 53 | 92.7% | $1,835,000 |
St. Clair Shores Residential canal, basin and select direct lakefront | 19 | 13 | 2 | $755,211 | $585,000 | $289 | 27 | 96.3% | $1,400,000 |
Chesterfield Township Canal, Anchor Bay and direct waterfront | 9 | 8 | 0 | $1,061,222 | $1,000,000 | $345 | 19 | 92.0% | $1,850,000 |
New Baltimore Anchor Bay, canal and direct shoreline properties | 2 | 2 | 2 | $740,400 | $740,400 | $322 | 57 | 98.0% | $756,000 |
Grosse Pointe Park Rare direct Lake St. Clair estate waterfront | 2 | 0 | 0 | $3,275,000 | $3,275,000 | $501 | 58 | 84.0% | $4,250,000 |
Swipe horizontally to view the complete comparison.
City-by-City Market Insights
The numbers—and the market conditions behind them
Each waterfront community attracts a different buyer profile and contains a different mix of canal, river, bay and direct-lake properties.
23 sold · 40 active · 7 pending
Harrison Township
The region’s volume leader—with the deepest active inventory
Harrison Township accounted for 23 of the 55 closed waterfront sales and 40 of the 63 active listings. Its $655,000 median sale price sat below its $684,950 median active asking price, while the 53-day median market time and 92.7% average sale-to-original-list ratio show that pricing discipline remained important.
19 sold · 13 active · 2 pending
St. Clair Shores
Strong list-price retention and faster median absorption
St. Clair Shores recorded 19 closed sales with a 27-day median market time and a 96.3% average sale-to-original-list ratio—the strongest list-price retention among the higher-volume communities. Its $585,000 median sale price remained below the $679,000 median active asking price.
9 sold · 8 active · 0 pending
Chesterfield Township
The highest median sale price among the core volume markets
Chesterfield Township posted nine closed sales with a $1 million median sale price and a 19-day median market time. Active inventory was also positioned higher, with a $1.223 million median asking price. The market’s 92.0% average sale-to-original-list ratio reflects meaningful negotiation at the upper end.
New Baltimore had two closed sales, two pending properties and two active listings. The $740,400 median sale price and 98.0% average sale-to-original-list ratio were encouraging, but the small sample should be interpreted cautiously.
2 sold · 0 active · 0 pending
Grosse Pointe Park
Two luxury transactions defined the top of the market
Grosse Pointe Park produced only two closed waterfront sales, but they averaged $3.275 million and included the $4.25 million sale at 15410 Windmill Pointe Drive. The limited sample is not a citywide benchmark; it reflects the highly property-specific nature of direct lakefront estates.
Largest Waterfront Sales
The five highest closed transactions through July 31
The upper end of the market included direct lakefront estates, high-value canal properties and unique homes with exceptional frontage or boating access.
01
Grosse Pointe Park
15410 Windmill Pointe Drive
$4,250,000
02
Grosse Pointe Park
801 Park Lane
$2,300,000
03
Chesterfield Twp
49016 Pointe Lakeview Drive
$1,850,000
04
Harrison Twp
29303 S Seaway Court
$1,835,000
05
Harrison Twp
46 Evergreen Drive 1
$1,800,000
Second-Half 2026 Outlook
What this means for waterfront sellers
The first seven months of 2026 demonstrate that qualified waterfront buyers remain active, but results vary sharply by community, price tier and property type. Homes with compelling water access, thoughtful preparation and realistic pricing can still create urgency.
Sellers entering the late-summer or fall market should evaluate the active competition carefully. In Harrison Township in particular, active inventory materially exceeded year-to-date closed volume. A property that is priced from an aspirational listing rather than a relevant closed sale may struggle to stand apart.
For owners considering a spring 2027 sale, the current period is an opportunity to complete repairs, document dock and seawall improvements, capture late-summer photography and establish a strategy before the next seasonal launch window.
Waterfront Market Report Archive
Explore Previous Lake St. Clair Market Reports
Compare pricing, inventory, market time and notable waterfront sales across multiple years to better understand how the Lake St. Clair market has evolved.
Market information is based on waterfront residential properties priced at $450,000 and above with direct water or canal access, as provided through Realcomp through July 31, 2026. Expired records were omitted when the same address also appeared as sold, pending or active. Closed-sale metrics are calculated only from 55 sold transactions; active, pending and remaining expired listings are shown separately. Figures are arithmetic averages unless otherwise noted. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should not replace a property-specific market analysis.
