GT County’s Heat Map: Acme, Fife Lake, Grant Townships See Highest Property Value Growth

A “heat map” shared with Grand Traverse County commissioners at their annual equalization meeting Tuesday shows that outlying townships are experiencing some of the region’s highest growth rates in property values – particularly in Acme, Fife Lake, Grant, Paradise, and Blair townships. Meanwhile, the communities with the overall combined highest property values – including the City of Traverse City, Garfield Township, and Peninsula Township – are maintaining modest but steady growth rates.

Commissioners met Tuesday to approve the county’s 2026 equalization report. Director of Equalization Jim Baker explained that his department works with local assessors throughout the year to reach a consensus on property values, which are submitted to commissioners and then the state for approval. Property values are measured in two key ways in Michigan: state equalized value (SEV) – also called assessed value – and taxable value.

The assessed value is 50 percent of the true cash value (market value) of a property. It’s the closest reflection of how properties are actually performing on the real estate market. However, Michigan has laws in place to protect homeowners from paying rapidly increasing taxes just because their property values are rising. That’s where taxable value comes in.

Taxable value is used to calculate property taxes, and its annual growth is capped at either five percent or the inflation rate, known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Because of that cap, taxable value is typically lower than SEV. If a property is sold, the taxable value is “uncapped” and raised to the same level as the SEV. That helps keep the two figures closer in line over time, though typically means higher property taxes for the new owners.

Baker’s equalization report shows both the assessed and taxable values for properties throughout Grand Traverse County. The total equalized value of properties countywide for 2026 is over $13.9 billion, a 6.77 percent increase over 2025. The taxable value, meanwhile, is over $8.7 billion – a 6.54 percent increase over last year. The total number of parcels has grown 1.42 percent, or from 59,870 to 60,721.

Baker provided a chart showing how property values have trended in Grand Traverse County since 2005. Values dipped significantly in the market crash period of 2008-2012, then slowly rebounded in the ensuing decade. Then, in the last several years, equalized values skyrocketed into double-digit annual increases due to the “super-hot market,” Baker said: 10.1 percent in 2022, 14.5 percent in 2023, 19.1 percent in 2024, and 11.7 percent in 2025. That makes this year’s 6.77 percent increase a relative return to normalcy. Baker said he was “glad to see the rate has moderated,” as it’s “more stable that way.” The previous increases were “unprecedented” in Baker’s 40-year career, he added.

Baker’s heat map showed that numerous townships are performing better than the county overall – the “hot spots” on the map, so to speak. The township with the highest growth rate in assessed value was Acme Township at 11.44 percent. Acme was followed by Fife Lake Township at 10.66 percent, Grant Township at 9.36 percent, Paradise Township at 8.92 percent, and Blair Township at 8.91 percent.

By comparison, the City of Traverse City came in at 4.98 percent, while Garfield Township was the lowest on the list at 3.51 percent. Those communities have some of the highest combined property values overall, however, potentially reflecting a more stable ceiling than outlying areas. In a fall article in the Northern Express – sister publication of The Ticker – local realtors said they expected that “overall home prices will continue to rise, but at a slower rate than in recent years.”

Residential property represents 78.6 percent of the assessed value “pie” in Grand Traverse County. Commercial property is the next highest category at 16 percent. That’s followed by personal property at 2.7 percent, agricultural property at 1.63 percent, and industrial property at 1.06 percent.

Commissioners thanked Baker for the various graphs he provided to visually depict property trends in Grand Traverse County, with Vice Chair TJ Andrews calling it “really valuable.” Commissioner Fern Spence especially liked the heat maps, saying it was helpful to see “where the most intense growth is happening.” Commissioners voted 6-0 to approve the equalization report, with Commissioners Darryl Nelson, Rob Hentschel, and Penny Morris absent.