South Lyon real estate sits on the western edge of Metro Detroit, a compact city with a walkable downtown, easy access to nearby employment centers, and a mix of older homes and newer subdivisions for sale in South Lyon. Tracking the local housing market matters because South Lyon’s small size and split zip areas mean city-level metrics can move quickly; trends in listing activity, median prices, and days on market give a clear view of whether buyers or sellers hold the advantage. This report pulls together the latest pricing, sales, and value trends so you can see how the South Lyon housing market is behaving right now.
What is the Current State of the South Lyon Real Estate Market?
Through August 2025 the market shows stronger prices and brisk activity in some pockets while other measures suggest a mixed, locally varied market. Redfin reports a city-level median sale price of $325,000 in August 2025, up 11.1% year-over-year, with a median days on market around 13 days and 25 homes sold that month; Redfin classifies South Lyon as “very competitive.”
At the same time, broader zip-code and listing indexes show higher medians and larger inventory counts, which indicates meaningful variation between the tight downtown/city limits and the larger 48178 zip area. Zillow’s August 2025 figures for the broader South Lyon geography show a higher median list price and ZHVI-level values that differ from the city-only Redfin snapshot; the practical takeaway is that “South Lyon” stats depend on the boundary used.
Average List Price
Median and average list prices differ by data source and by geography. Zillow’s listing snapshot at the end of August 2025 shows a median list price around $470,000 for the broader South Lyon, reflecting active inventory in the 48178 postal geography.
That contrasts with the city-level median sale price reported by Redfin for August 2025 ($325,000), which reflects closed transactions inside the city limits and tends to move faster in small markets. When advising clients, I compare both metrics: median list price to understand current ask behavior, and median sale price to understand what buyers actually paid.
Average Sales Price
For closed sales, Redfin’s August 2025 median sale price of $325,000 is the clearest city-specific number; it captures homes that finished the transaction and therefore reflects recent market clearing prices within city boundaries. That figure rose 11.1% year-over-year for August 2025. For a broader picture that includes higher-priced pockets in the zip code, Zillow’s mid-2025 median sale figures sit notably higher; the divergence underscores the importance of specifying boundary definitions when speaking about “average sales price.”
Number of Houses Listed
Inventory in South Lyon has been limited at the city level but deeper when including surrounding subdivisions. Zillow reported roughly 143 active listings in the extended sector as of August 31, 2025, while Redfin’s city-specific pages show a smaller, more constrained active inventory when focusing only on the municipal footprint. That difference explains why competition and sale-to-list ratios can feel intense in town even while the broader zip code shows more choice.
Number of Homes Sold
Closed-sales counts are small enough that monthly changes can be large in percentage terms. Redfin reports 25 homes sold in August 2025 in the city, up from 18 in August 2024, which shows a strong month-over-month lift but still represents a modest absolute sample. For year-to-date planning, aggregate the monthly closings from either your MLS export or the major data providers to reduce single-month volatility.
Average Days on Market
Days-on-market is short in the city core. Redfin shows median days on market of roughly 13 days in August 2025 for South Lyon city, versus longer pendency figures when looking at the larger region or older homes that need renovation. Low DOM in the city often reflects smaller-house footprints and strong local demand for walkable downtown locations.
Price Drops
Price-drop dynamics matter more in thin markets. Redfin reports that about 30.2% of homes had a price drop in August 2025 for South Lyon city, a slight decline year-over-year, while sale-to-list ratios remain roughly at 100.4%—meaning many homes still clear near list. Those two facts together say inventory is moving but that sellers occasionally need to adjust pricing to find buyers.
How Have Housing Market Trends Changed in South Lyon?
South Lyon’s housing market has shifted notably over the past decade, with short-term gains building on long-term appreciation driven by limited inventory, steady demand, and ongoing development across its core and surrounding townships.
One-Year Change
One-year metrics show material appreciation in some measures. Redfin’s city-level numbers put median sale prices up 11.1% year-over-year in August 2025, reflecting a tighter micro-market inside the city limits. Use month-stamped data when comparing to prior periods so you’re working with apples-to-apples comps.
Three-Year Change
Three-year trends smooth out a lot of the month-to-month noise and tend to show modest appreciation in South Lyon overall, though pockets that experienced new-build activity or substantial renovations outperform. For investors and sellers, the three-year view helps identify structural appreciation versus short-term ripples in demand.
Five-Year Change
Over five years the South Lyon area has seen northern-suburb pricing pressure from the broader Detroit metro, with the zip-code measures generally showing greater growth than the small city core. Zillow’s longer-term ZHVI series indicates positive cumulative gains through mid-2025, but values differ significantly by neighborhood and lot.
Ten-Year Change
A decade-scale view captures post-recession recovery, local development shifts, and changing buyer preferences. Ten-year returns to date reflect steady long-term growth, but local risk factors such as inventory constraints, property-tax structure, or environmental exposure can change neighborhood-level outcomes. For any long-horizon decision, layer in parcel-level comps and assessor records.
How Are Mortgage Rates?
Mortgage rates moved meaningfully in 2025. As of the weekly Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey for October 2, 2025, the average 30-year fixed rate was roughly 6.34%, up slightly from recent lows earlier in the year; weekly updates can shift this number.
Looking forward, major forecasting organizations expect only gradual change. Fannie Mae’s August 2025 outlook projected average 30-year rates finishing 2025 near 6.5%, and easing closer to the low 6s in 2026 under baseline assumptions; other industry forecasts show modest variation around those mid-6 percent levels. Over a 3-month horizon the consensus is for limited movement, while a 6- to 12-month view leaves room for a modest decline if inflation trends and Fed policy evolve favorably. Use these forecasts as scenario inputs, not certainties.
Practical effect: higher mortgage rates compress buyer budgets and can slow volume; conversely, an unexpected drop of even a few tenths of a percent tends to boost purchase activity and refinancing in short order.
Is it a Buyer or Seller’s Market in South Lyon, MI?
The answer depends on the geography and price segment. Inside the city limits—where DOM is low, sale-to-list ratios hover around 100%, and a meaningful share of listings still get multiple offers—conditions read as more seller friendly as of August 2025. Redfin classifies South Lyon as “very competitive” at the city level for recent months.
When you broaden to the zip code and surrounding suburbs, the market looks softer: more inventory, higher median list prices, and longer pendency in some subdivisions. That creates buyer opportunity outside the core but ongoing demand for well-priced, updated homes near downtown. The right framing for clients is to treat South Lyon as a tight pocket market inside a more balanced local region.
FAQs
Different services use different boundaries. Redfin’s city-only metrics reflect closed sales inside municipal limits; Zillow and other listing indexes often use zip-code or broader neighborhoods and therefore show higher or more variable medians. Match the data source and geography to the property you are evaluating when comparing home prices.
Redfin’s climate/risk tools show generally minor flood and heat exposure for South Lyon, with some wind and fire considerations flagged at the parcel level; these factors can affect insurance and long-term maintenance budgets. For a given property, check parcel-level hazard summaries and insurance requirements.
Short-term movement in rates is uncertain. As of October 2, 2025 the 30-year rate averaged about 6.34% per Freddie Mac; Fannie Mae’s forecasts point to modest easing into 2026 under baseline scenarios, but political and economic shocks can alter that path. Treat rate forecasts as scenarios and run affordability calculations for a range of rates.
Neighborhood choice can create large differences in lists and sells because South Lyon contains both older downtown stock and newer subdivisions in the zip area. Historic cores often trade quickly and at strong price-to-list ratios; newer subdivisions may command higher list prices but show slower velocity. Use local comps within a one-mile radius and narrow time windows for accurate resale expectations.
