The Saginaw market, by the numbers
From our own transaction records and HUD data for Saginaw ZIP codes.
Updated 2026-09-18.
Saginaw · MI
3 bed / 2 bathTypical home we buy
2,001 sq ftMedian size
30 daysMedian days on market
5ZIP codes we buy in
Across the Saginaw properties in our records, the median time on market is 30 days. A cash sale skips that window entirely — there is no listing period, no showings, and no financing contingency that can collapse at day 30.
Delinquent taxes and the county land bank
Delinquent taxes get paid from the proceeds. If the county has already started forfeiture there is a hard deadline involved, so tell us early and we will check where it actually stands.
Water bills and municipal liens attach to the property
Unpaid water and sewer charges follow the deed here, not the person. They are payable out of closing proceeds — but a lender will usually walk once they surface on title.
ZIP codes we buy in around Saginaw
4860248603486044860948638
That is 5 ZIP codes across Saginaw — including 48602, 48603, 48604 and 48609. Not listed? We still look at it — Michigan deals outside these ZIPs come through regularly.
What homes are actually selling for in Saginaw
Here are 758 recorded Saginaw sales from our comparable-sales database. Every number below is what someone actually paid — not an estimate, and not our opinion of your house.
Recorded sales · Saginaw
$179,000Median sale price
$103Median per sq ft
758Sales analysed
1957Median year built
Quartiles put Saginaw at $113,000 and $240,000. That gap, not the median, is what a walkthrough is for.
Recorded sales in our own comparable-sales database for these ZIP
codes. Sale prices reflect what buyers paid for homes in their condition at the time —
they are not an appraisal of your property and not an offer.
Saginaw by ZIP code
We underwrite by ZIP, not by city. Here is what each one looks like in our data:
Look at the gap between 48603 ($234,900) and 48602 ($102,000). Same city, roughly 130% apart. Anyone quoting you a citywide price per square foot is not looking at your block.
Sale figures are medians of recorded sales in our comparable-sales
database; rent is HUD Fair Market Rent for that ZIP. A dash means we do not hold enough data
for that ZIP to publish a number we would stand behind.
What the Saginaw market is doing right now
Whole-market figures for every Saginaw ZIP code we buy in, from the Restar
housing database · August 2026. These are not our numbers — they cover every sale in the ZIP, not
just ours.
Saginaw · MI · live market
$197,914Median sale price · -6.8% yr/yr
16 daysDays on market · +4.0 days yr/yr
$118Price per sq ft
30Homes listed for sale · +11.5% yr/yr
$1,142/moMedian rent
0.98Sale-to-list ratio
A house listed in Saginaw is currently taking a median of 16 days to go under contract, 4 days longer than a year ago, and that is only the clock until it goes under contract — a financed buyer then needs another 30 to 45 days to close, assuming their loan holds.
Values across these ZIP codes are up 5.1% year over year. If the house is in condition to list and you have time, that is an argument for listing it — we would rather tell you that than win a deal you regret.
There are +11.5% more homes on the market than a year ago, which means a listing competes with more of them.
Median rent of $1,142 against a median sale price of $197,914 is a gross yield near 6.9%. That is the honest reason we can pay cash in Saginaw: many of these houses work as rentals for us, so we are not dependent on reselling quickly.
Source: Restar (restar.io) housing database,
built from public records and MLS-derived feeds. A dash means that ZIP has no published figure for
that measure this month.
Saginaw inside Saginaw County
Where a market sits relative to its county tells you which buyers can afford it and how
long they take to commit. Here is Saginaw County against the Saginaw ZIP codes specifically.
The Saginaw ZIP codes we buy in run +5% above the Saginaw County median of $189,366. That gap is the reason a countywide price per square foot is useless for pricing your house, and it is why our offers are underwritten by ZIP.
Time on market differs too: a median of 16 days in the Saginaw ZIP codes against 24 days across Saginaw County.
County-wide, the median sale price is +3.8% against a year ago.
County figures from the Restar housing database; the Saginaw column is the
median across the ZIP codes listed above. Income is the most recent Census estimate.
What we actually buy in Saginaw
Saginaw is the fastest market in our entire footprint. Listings go under contract in a median of sixteen days, values are up about 5% over the year, and there are only around thirty homes on the market at a time across these five ZIP codes.
We should be honest about what that means: if your Saginaw house is in reasonable condition, you do not need us. Sixteen days is not a marketing problem. Put it on the MLS.
Where we are useful is the other half of this market. Our own comp database here holds 758 recorded sales with a median around $179,000 and a lower quartile of $113,000, and the typical house we buy was built in 1957. That lower quartile is the part of Saginaw that does not sell in sixteen days - vacant houses, fire and water damage, estates that have sat, and rentals that have been through more tenants than repairs.
Michigan's winter vacancy risk is the thing to act on rather than think about. A house sitting empty with the heat off through one heating season is how most of the damage we see in this region happens, and it turns a fixable property into a cash-only one.
What that means for an offer in Saginaw
Every legitimate cash offer is the same four-line calculation. Here it is run on the median Saginaw sale price, so you can see the shape of it before anyone calls you.
This is an illustration, not an offer on your house. Your repair number is the line that moves most. A house that only needs cosmetics lands well above this; one with structural or mechanical work lands below. Ask any buyer to show you their four lines.
If your house is in good condition, this is also the calculation that tells you to
list it instead. We will say so. The full breakdown of
how the offer is built covers where the line falls.
What it costs to sell a house in Saginaw
Run on the median Saginaw sale price of $179,000 from our own
recorded-sales data, with the Michigan transfer tax at its statutory
rate. This is the listing route; the right-hand column is what a cash sale removes.
How to work out your net proceeds in Saginaw
Every closing statement follows the same formula:
Net proceeds = sale price − mortgage payoff − closing costs
− commissions − repairs and concessions
On the median Saginaw sale with an illustrative $80,500 still owed, listing
nets roughly $81,536 after the $16,964 of costs above. A cash offer
starts below the retail price but carries none of those five deductions, which is why the two
routes land closer together than the headline numbers suggest — and why, on a house in
good condition that can wait 60 to 90 days, listing still usually wins.
Illustrative arithmetic on this market's median, not a quote on your
property. Commission is customary rather than fixed and is negotiable; your payoff, liens and
tax proration are specific to your file. See
the full cash offer versus listing
comparison to run it on your own numbers, or
what seller closing costs actually cover.
How a closing actually works in Michigan
Michigan closings are typically handled by a title company. The wrinkle worth knowing is that taxable value uncaps on transfer, so the buyer's tax bill will not match the one on your statement — and in Detroit specifically, city rental certification and any open blight tickets have to be cleared before a file closes.
On our side the sequence is the same every time: title search, payoff figures ordered on
any existing mortgage, liens and municipal balances identified, then funds and deed recorded.
Nothing about a cash sale skips title work — what it skips is the lender, the appraisal
and the financing contingency, which is where most retail contracts on Saginaw houses
actually die.
General information about how these transactions typically proceed, not
legal or tax advice. Your closing agent or attorney is the authority on your specific file.
What Michigan law requires when you sell
Every row below is a statute rather than our opinion, and each one links to the primary
source so you can check it yourself. These are also the items that most often delay a closing
in Saginaw.
Disclosure
Michigan requires a written Seller's Disclosure Statement before you accept an offer on most one-to-four unit residential sales. Estates, foreclosures and court-ordered transfers are exempt, which is why an inherited house often moves faster here than sellers expect.
Transfer tax
Statutorily the seller's obligation. A principal-residence sale can qualify for a state-portion exemption where the sale price does not exceed the property's true cash value; your title company will know.
Who closes the file
Michigan closings are conducted by a title company. No attorney is required. The one Michigan-specific consequence to plan for is that taxable value uncaps on transfer under MCL 211.27a, so the buyer inherits a different tax bill from yours.
Tax on the gain
Michigan income tax applies at a flat 4.25% to gain above the federal exclusion. Federally, the primary-residence exclusion shelters up to $250,000 of
gain if you are single and $500,000 if you are married filing jointly, provided you owned and
lived in the house for two of the last five years — see
IRS Topic 701. An
inherited property takes a stepped-up basis at the date of death, which usually means little
or no taxable gain if you sell soon after.
General information about Michigan practice, current as of
2026-09-18. It is not legal or tax advice, and rates set at county or municipal level vary
within the state. Your closing agent, attorney or CPA is the authority on your file.
Our offer versus listing it in Saginaw
The listing timeline is the median days on market for Saginaw in our own records, plus a typical financed closing. Commission is the customary 6% and varies by agreement.
Three days to change your mind
If you accept an offer, you have three days after signing to walk away for any reason
at all, with nothing owed and no explanation needed. We would rather lose a deal than
have someone feel cornered into one.
Sometimes you should not sell to us
If the house is in good shape and you are not in a hurry, listing it will almost
always net you more than we can offer. That is not us being modest — we buy at a
discount because we take on the repairs, the carrying costs and the risk.
We will tell you when that is your situation. It is a faster conversation for both of
us than pretending otherwise.
Why Saginaw sellers call us
Most people who reach out are not shopping for the highest number — they are solving
something with a deadline attached. These pages cover what changes in each case:
A sale date does not have to mean a foreclosure on your record.
We buy through probate and can wait for the letters.
A clean date and a clean split of the proceeds.
Occupied is fine. You do not have to remove anyone first.
These get paid out of the proceeds at closing.
Fire, water, structural — we price it, you do not repair it.
Who you will be dealing with
Trevor McAmis
Owner & Acquisitions Lead, Restar Acquisitions. (313) 710-6129 · More about us
Every offer on this site is underwritten by a person, not a form. If the
numbers do not work for you, say so and I will tell you what would.
Other Michigan markets we buy in
We buy across Michigan, not just Saginaw. Each of these has its own sale prices, ZIP breakdown and rent data published the same way:
Common questions from Saginaw sellers
- What about delinquent property taxes?
- Delinquent taxes get paid from the sale proceeds. If the county has already begun forfeiture there is a deadline involved, so tell us early and we will check where it actually stands.
- How fast can you close in Saginaw?
- Typically 7-14 days once title is clear, because there is no lender underwriting. For comparison, the median Saginaw listing in our records sits 30 days before it is even under contract, and closing runs another 30-45 days after that.
- There are unpaid water bills and code violations. Is that a problem?
- No. Water and sewer balances and code citations attach to the property and are paid out of the proceeds at closing. They are a normal line item for us and a deal-breaker for a lender.
- What is the transfer tax when I sell a house in Michigan?
- $7.50 per $1,000 state plus $1.10 per $1,000 county, $8.60 per $1,000 combined — about 0.86% of the price. Seller pays it under MCL 207.525 (state); MCL 207.504 (county). Statutorily the seller's obligation. A principal-residence sale can qualify for a state-portion exemption where the sale price does not exceed the property's true cash value; your title company will know. On a cash sale to us it comes out of our side of the settlement statement, not yours.
- Do I need an attorney to close in Michigan?
- No. Michigan closings are conducted by a title company. No attorney is required. The one Michigan-specific consequence to plan for is that taxable value uncaps on transfer under MCL 211.27a, so the buyer inherits a different tax bill from yours.
- What do I have to disclose when selling a house in Michigan?
- Michigan requires a written Seller's Disclosure Statement before you accept an offer on most one-to-four unit residential sales. Estates, foreclosures and court-ordered transfers are exempt, which is why an inherited house often moves faster here than sellers expect. The citation is MCL 565.957. Selling as-is does not remove the obligation — it changes who pays for the repair, not whether you have to mention it.
- How much does it cost to sell a house in Saginaw?
- On the median Saginaw sale price of $179,000 in our recorded-sales data, the listing route runs roughly $16,964 once you add agent commission, transfer tax, title and settlement fees, buyer concessions and pre-listing repairs — around 9% of the sale price. A cash sale to us carries none of those five line items.
- What percentage of my home's value will a cash buyer offer?
- There is no fixed percentage, and any buyer quoting one before seeing the property is guessing. The offer is after-repair value, minus repairs, minus holding and resale costs, minus the buyer's margin. Repairs is the line that moves most: a house needing only cosmetics lands far higher than one needing a roof and mechanicals. Ask any buyer to walk you through all four lines on your specific property.
- Can I sell if I owe more than the house is worth?
- Sometimes, through a short sale, but that needs your lender's written approval and takes months rather than days. We will tell you on the first call if that is what you are looking at, rather than let you find out two weeks in.
- Can I really sell my house as-is?
- Yes. We buy in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no staging — and you can leave behind anything you do not want. As-is changes who pays for the work, not what you are required to disclose about it.
- What does a 'cash offer' actually mean?
- That the purchase is funded without a mortgage, so there is no lender, no appraisal and no financing contingency. That is the whole of the advantage: financing falling through is the most common reason a residential sale collapses, and it cannot happen on a cash purchase.
- How do I know your offer is fair?
- Check it against the recorded sales published on this page and against the four-line calculation above it. We show you the comps the number came from. If listing would net you more, we will say so — that conversation is faster for both of us than the alternative.
- What fees or commissions will I pay?
- None. There is no agent commission, no listing fee, and we cover standard closing costs. The number on the offer is what you net, minus any existing mortgage payoff or liens.
- Am I obligated to accept the offer?
- No. The offer is written, free, and yours to walk away from. We would rather you compare it against a listing than feel pushed into it.
- Written offer within 24 hours
- Any condition — no repairs, no cleaning
- No commissions; we cover standard closing costs
- You pick the closing date
Get my cash offer →
Takes about two minutes. Or call
(313) 710-6129 — we answer.
