Traverse City

Traverse City is the heart of northern Michigan — by far the largest city in the region and its hub for shopping, dining, healthcare, and culture. It sits right at the foot of Grand Traverse Bay, and its downtown along Front Street (named one of the country’s “great streets”) is full of shops, restaurants, breweries, and galleries, with beaches and the bay just steps away. Each July the National Cherry Festival takes over the waterfront for eight days of parades, an air show, and, of course, cherries — the region’s signature crop.

One of the most distinctive spots in town is the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, the beautifully restored former state hospital, whose grand Victorian buildings now hold shops, restaurants, and condos on a wooded campus. Just south of downtown, Garfield Township is the busy, more suburban side of the area — the Grand Traverse Mall, big-box stores, restaurants, and a lot of the region’s newer neighborhoods — and it’s actually the largest community by population in all of northern Lower Michigan. Munson Medical Center, the area’s major regional hospital, and Northwestern Michigan College are in the city, too.

For buyers, the Traverse City area is the most active and varied market up north — historic in-town homes, bay-view condos, suburban subdivisions in Garfield, and everything in between. Prices have climbed with the area’s popularity, and demand stays strong in every season.