Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With a population of 2,358, 1,000 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $162,056, house prices in West Branch are some of the most affordable in Michigan as well as the nation.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in West Branch, accounting for 52.56% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in West Branch include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 29.19%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 12.52%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 5.73%).
West Branch is dominated by renter-occupied one, two, or no bedrooms apartments. 65.45% of West Branch's dwellings are rentals.
There is a lot of housing in West Branch built from 1970 to 1999 so parts of town may have that "Brady Bunch" look of homes popular in the '70s and early '80s, although some of these houses were built up through the early '90s as well. There is also a lot of housing in West Branch built between 1940-1969 ( 34.66%). A lesser amount of the housing stock also hails from between 2000 and later ( 16.75%). There's also some housing in West Branch built before 1939 ( 11.90%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in West Branch. Fully 11.82% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant West Branch homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding West Branch real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Real estate appreciation rates in West Branch's have tracked to near the national average over the last then years, with the annual appreciation rate averaging 6.64% during the period.
Appreciation rates are so strong in West Branch that despite a nationwide downturn in the housing market, West Branch real estate has continued to appreciate in value faster than most communities. Looking at just the latest twelve months, West Branch appreciation rates continue to be some of the highest in America, at 10.14%, which is higher than appreciation rates in 81.39% of the cities and towns in the nation. Based on the last twelve months, short-term real estate investors have found good fortune in West Branch. West Branch appreciation rates in the latest quarter were at 2.55%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 10.58%.
Importantly, this makes West Branch one of the highest appreciating communities in the nation for the latest quarter, and may signal the city's near-future real estate investment strength.
Relative to Michigan, our data show that West Branch's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 60% of the other cities and towns in Michigan.
$162,056
for Michigan
for nation
1,000
$1,250 / per month