Ann Arbor: The Market the 150-Day Rule Was Built For

Program and regulatory figures verified October 9, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.

By Mike Certo, Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 · Updated October 9, 2026

Michigan's academic-medicine centre, and the clearest case in the state for buying before the first paycheque arrives.

The market

Typical value $416,914, up 2.5% over the year to 31 August 2026. Second-highest in Michigan, a whisker behind Traverse City's $422,480.

★ Those two numbers are nearly identical and the markets are not comparable. Traverse City is a resort economy. Ann Arbor is a teaching-hospital economy with a fixed annual intake, which changes who is buying and when.

★ Why the timing rule matters more here

Academic medicine runs on a calendar. An incoming attending or fellow signs in winter or early spring and starts in July. The income that will support the mortgage has not begun.

Agency underwriting works on roughly 90 days between closing and the start of employment, so a spring closing against a July start falls outside it. The physician programme extends that to 150 days, which is what makes a pre-start purchase possible at all.

★ In a market with a July intake, that difference is not a convenience. It decides whether you buy this year or rent for one. What the contract has to show.

★ One caution specific to an academic appointment

If you are weighing MSLRP alongside an Ann Arbor offer, read the site requirements before you count on it. The programme requires employment at eligible nonprofit practice sites providing primary health care services to ambulatory populations, and the general rule is a site inside a Health Professional Shortage Area.

A university appointment is not automatically any of those things. The 2026 cycle does relax the rules for inpatient pediatric psychiatry, which may be hospital-based, treating inpatients, at a site without a mental-health HPSA designation, but that is a narrow carve-out, not a general one. The priority rules.

★ We are not the programme and we do not determine eligibility. Check the site with MDHHS before you plan a purchase around an award.

Loan size is not the issue

At $416,914, Ann Arbor's typical value is almost exactly 50% of the $832,750 conforming limit that applies in all 83 Michigan counties. Even a well-above-typical Ann Arbor purchase stays inside agency territory. The limits.

What makes a file answerable

Your signed employment contract, with a start date and a defined compensation figure.
Your student loan position, balances, servicer, and whether you are in an income-driven or deferred status. Why it matters.
Your target price range and timing relative to that start date.

With those three we can tell you what is possible before you start looking, which in a July-start market is the whole game.

Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.

Frequently asked questions

What do homes cost in Ann Arbor?

A Zillow typical home value of $416,914 for the month ending August 31, 2026, up 2.5 percent year over year. That is the second-highest in Michigan behind Traverse City at $422,480, and about 50 percent of the $832,750 conforming loan limit.

Can I buy in Ann Arbor before my residency or fellowship starts?

Usually yes, on a physician loan. The programme qualifies a borrower on a signed employment contract up to 150 days before the start date, where agency underwriting works on roughly 90 days. For an academic appointment starting in July and signed in winter or spring, that difference is what makes a pre-start purchase possible.

Does a University of Michigan appointment qualify for MSLRP?

Not automatically. The Michigan State Loan Repayment Program requires employment at eligible nonprofit practice sites providing primary health care services to ambulatory populations, generally within a Health Professional Shortage Area. The 2026 cycle relaxes the site rules for inpatient pediatric psychiatry specifically, but that is a narrow carve-out. Eligibility is determined by MDHHS, not by a lender.

Is Ann Arbor expensive compared with the rest of Michigan?

It is the second most expensive metro in the state at $416,914, within about 1.3 percent of Traverse City. In national terms it remains modest: the figure is roughly half the 2026 conforming loan limit of $832,750 that applies in every Michigan county.

Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about physician mortgage financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. The Michigan State Loan Repayment Program is administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, not by Cornerstone; its terms, award amounts, priorities and application windows are set by MDHHS and change. Figures here carry the date we verified them against the programme's own published materials. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees and overlays are set by the lender and change. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.