Market file · Antrim County, Michigan

Elk Rapids home appraisals

Elk Rapids Township

Elk Rapids is a village of 1,529 (2020 census) on an isthmus between Elk Lake and the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay, inside a township of 2,521. Zillow's average home value was $512,751 in September 2026, up 6.8% year over year. Bay and lake frontage drive this market.

$512,751Zillow average home value, Elk Rapids, September 2026, up 6.8% year over year

1,529Village population, 2020 census (Wikipedia)

40.3%Share of the village's 1,220 housing units vacant, 2020 census (Wikipedia)

7,700 acresElk Lake surface area (Wikipedia, Chain of Lakes)

High vacancy, few homes for sale

Zillow's average home value for Elk Rapids was $512,751 on September 30, 2026, up 6.8% year over year. That sits far above the Antrim County median owner occupied value of $255,500 in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 ACS. Of the village's 1,220 housing units in 2020, 40.3% were vacant, yet the homeowner vacancy rate was only 2.0%. Few homes were sitting unsold.

Bay frontage and Elk Lake frontage sell side by side in one small village, and they are not the same product.

Bay on one side, Elk Lake on the other

Two waters frame the village. The East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay lies west, and Elk Lake, Michigan's 15th largest inland lake and the last in the Elk River Chain of Lakes, lies east. The Elk River cuts through town to the bay, past the Isle of Pines and the Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor with more than 212 slips. Bass Lake and Birch Lake are in the township too, and water makes up 35% of its 11 square miles. Elk Rapids Schools keeps its elementary, middle and high school inside the village.

Areas, lakes and neighborhoods in this file

Village of Elk Rapids
Downtown River Street
Isle of Pines
Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor
Elk Lake shoreline
East Grand Traverse Bay shoreline
South Bayshore Drive
Bass Lake
Birch Lake
Elk River
Elk Rapids Day Park area
Kewadin
Torch River
Alden

Landmarks around Elk Rapids

Elk Rapids Township HallNational Register of Historic Places
The Island HouseHistoric site
Hughes HouseHistoric house
Elk RiverRiver
Elk LakeInland lake

Common questions

Is bay frontage appraised the same as Elk Lake frontage?

They are separate comp pools. Grand Traverse Bay is an arm of Lake Michigan, while Elk Lake is an inland lake of about 7,700 acres at the end of the Elk River Chain of Lakes. An appraiser compares bay homes with bay sales and Elk Lake homes with Elk Lake sales, then adjusts for frontage, access, view and the house itself.

Why did the census count so many Elk Rapids homes as vacant?

The census counts a home as vacant when nobody lives there on census day, and that includes seasonal homes. In 2020, 40.3% of the village's 1,220 units were vacant, yet the homeowner vacancy rate, which tracks homes for sale, was only 2.0%. Few homes were sitting unsold.