Mortgage Volume Is Up, Rates Are Holding Steady, and SE Michigan Prices Reflect It

The Mortgage Market Is Moving Again

Optimal Blue tracked a 10% jump in mortgage rate-lock volume from May to June, and 15% higher than the same time last year. Purchase locks made up 81% of that volume. That tells you buyers are not sitting on the sidelines waiting for some perfect rate moment. They are locking in and moving forward. The buyers who were hesitating six months ago are now making offers. If you are a seller and you thought demand had dried up, that data says otherwise.

What the County Numbers Actually Show

In Southeast Michigan right now, Washtenaw County is sitting at a $439,896 median for single-family homes. Oakland County is at $389,141. Livingston County is at $411,337. Wayne County comes in at $171,455, which reflects its much broader range of property types and price points across a large geographic area. These are not small numbers, and they are not moving downward. If anything, rising rate-lock volume nationally puts upward pressure on prices because more active buyers competing for the same inventory is the oldest story in real estate.

VA Loans Are Still Massively Underused

A 2026 NewDay USA survey found that only about 13% of eligible veterans have ever used their VA home loan benefit. That is a staggering number of people leaving a zero-down loan product on the table. If you or someone you know served and is thinking about buying in Washtenaw or Oakland County, this is worth a real conversation. The VA loan benefit does not expire, but home prices are not waiting around either.

One More Thing Worth Watching

VantageScore 5.0 just launched as a new tri-bureau credit scoring model built on post-2020 data. The company says it offers up to 9% better prediction accuracy and more stable scores. Most lenders are still using older models, but that will shift. If your credit score is on the edge of a better rate tier, it is worth talking to a lender now about how your profile looks under different scoring systems before you write your next offer.

The bottom line for right now: buyers have more competition than the headlines might suggest, and sellers in Washtenaw, Oakland, and Livingston counties are holding strong pricing. If you are waiting for the market to cool before you act, the June lock volume data is telling you not to count on it. Call me and let's look at what actually makes sense for your situation.