The Downs Northville New Construction Homes: Pricing, Timing and Taxes

In most of Northville, a buyer prices a home by looking at what nearby homes sold for. At The Downs, the 48-acre redevelopment of the former Northville Downs racetrack, that habit doesn't work well. Hometownlife reported in late July 2026 that few comparable projects exist in the area to gauge demand for the premium product going up north of Beal Street. So the first buyers aren't checking a price against sales history. Their closings are the sales history.

That is how buying new construction at The Downs differs from buying in the rest of the city. You are paying for three things at once. The first is the house. The second is a neighborhood that, according to the developers, is scheduled to be finished in 2029 or 2030. The third is a property tax basis that Michigan law resets in the year after your purchase. Each one helps explain the price.

Two developers, one street, and very different price floors

Hometownlife's July 31, 2026 tour of the site described The Downs as one property split between two builders at Beal Street. These figures are as of that report, and pricing on a phased project can change between releases.

The finished project is planned at 428 housing units, about 18,000 square feet of neighborhood retail, and parks and public gathering spaces, in a development valued at more than $300 million. On the FHS side, floor plans run from about 2,000 to more than 3,300 square feet with two to four bedrooms. Finishes shown on the tour included private elevators, rooftop terraces, Thermador appliances and dual primary suites.

These two sides aren't really competing on the same product. The Toll side starts more than $400,000 below the FHS side and is much further along in closings. The FHS side is just starting price discovery, with its first buyer moving in around early August.

The price is a thesis, and the developer says so

Hunter Pasteur's chief operating officer, Seth Herkowitz, has been open about the logic. He described a "flight to quality," meaning buyers who choose newer, better-appointed homes even when they cost more than homes in nearby neighborhoods. "If you can provide an elevated product in a location that people desire, a lot of times you can drive pricing," he told Hometownlife, calling that "our expectation, our thesis."

The thesis is reasonable on its own terms. Most of Northville's housing is historic homes and traditional subdivisions built decades ago. A local agent quoted in the same article said that leaves few options for buyers who want a newly built home near the city's center, especially one with an attached garage and an elevator. The same agent added a caveat: "I think we're going to have to grow into some of those price points."

That phrase describes the economics well. When a product has no local precedent, the asking price is a forecast. Early buyers accept that forecast and turn it into recorded sales. Appraisers, later buyers and eventually resale sellers inside The Downs will look back at those recorded sales. A buyer in phase one isn't just buying at the price. Their purchase becomes part of the evidence for what the price should be.

What your money is buying on the calendar

Because the price assumes the finished neighborhood, the more useful question is which parts of that neighborhood exist today. Here is the record from local reporting, in order:

1. 2025: The first Toll Brothers residents move into the Churchill Collection.
2. June 17, 2026: Downs River Park opens. It has 10 acres, 2.5 miles of trails, more than 1,400 trees and the newly daylighted Rouge River.
3. June 22, 2026: Main Street reopens between Center and Hutton streets with a raised crossing at the clock tower. The Town Square fountain replacement was pushed to later in 2026 after bids came in high.
4. Later in 2026: Move-ins expected in Toll's Cloverleaf Collection.
5. 2027: Central Park, 1.25 acres, is expected to open. The 178-unit apartment building, with projected average rents of about $3,600, is slated for availability. The Cady Street stair and walkway linking Town Square to The Downs is planned to begin construction.
6. Spring 2027: First move-ins in Toll's built-to-order Secretariat Collection of single-family homes.
7. 2028: Toll Brothers' portion projected to be complete.
8. 2029 or 2030: Full build-out, "if things go according to plan," per the developers' projection.

River Park is the biggest amenity already delivered, and it is real and open. Much of the rest is still ahead. That includes the central green the Towns on Central Park are named for, the walkable stair connection to Town Square, the retail space and the apartment building's rooftop amenities. In late July, Hometownlife described cranes and construction crews dominating the site even as residents moved in. A buyer closing this fall is buying several years of living beside an active job site along with the finished neighborhood.

The city itself is planning around that build-out. At a September 15 planning commission meeting, Community Development Director Justin Quagliata said The Downs is expected to increase Northville's population by 15%. He cited it as one reason for a complete rewrite of the city master plan, a process expected to take 12 to 18 months. The Detroit Free Press reported that the topics include parking, transportation and whether to allow accessory dwelling units, which are not currently permitted under Northville's single-family zoning. The rules for land use around The Downs are still being written while the first homes are occupied.

The tax bill starts from a different place than your neighbor's

This is where an early purchase at The Downs differs most from buying an older home a few blocks away, and it comes down to a Michigan rule.

Under Proposal A, a property's taxable value can rise each year by no more than 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, except for additions and losses. In the calendar year after a transfer of ownership, that cap is removed and taxable value is reset to the property's state equalized value, which is 50% of true cash value. The State Tax Commission's transfer-of-ownership guidelines say assessors may not skip this step. They also say true cash value is usually not the same as the sale price, and an assessor may not simply set value at half the purchase price. The capping formula itself is in MCL 211.27a.

For The Downs, this means every buyer in a new development starts at a freshly set value. A long-time owner in one of Northville's older homes may have had taxable value capped for years and sitting well below market. Two homes of similar value can carry very different tax bills simply because of when each one last changed hands.

The rates matter here. For 2025, the City of Northville's summer principal-residence rate for properties in the Wayne County portion of the city was 36.2836 mills. The state's 2025 total-rate table lists 42.1693 mills annually for that same category. Here is a purely illustrative example. If an assessor set a home's true cash value at $1,000,000, its state equalized value would be $500,000, and 42.1693 mills on that comes to about $21,085 for the year. The actual figure depends on the assessor's valuation, the county portion the home sits in, and the current year's millage. Oakland County-side city rates differ, at 39.9709 mills annually in 2025. The city or county assessor is the place to confirm how a specific parcel will be treated.

Why the regional condo numbers matter to the attached-housing side

A large share of The Downs is attached housing, including townhomes, brownstones, carriage homes and condominiums. Resale pace in that segment slowed across both counties in midsummer 2026. GMAR's July 2026 county report shows Oakland County condominiums averaging 39 days on market, up 25.8% from a year earlier. Months of supply rose 22.6% to 3.8, and the median sale price was $295,000. In Wayne County, condominiums averaged 46 days on market in July 2026, up 31.4%, with a median of $247,500.

These are regional figures, not Northville comparables. Their value is as context. The cheapest attached homes at The Downs start at roughly double the July 2026 county condo medians, and the broader condo market they will eventually resell into was taking longer to clear this summer than last. Over the same July 2026 window, single-family medians rose 4.8% to $435,000 in Oakland County and 3.4% to $230,000 in Wayne County. A buyer selling a single-family house to buy at The Downs is moving from the steadier segment to the slower one.

Questions buyers raise about The Downs

Is the Toll Brothers side cheaper because it's a lesser product? The reported starting prices reflect different product mixes. Toll's range begins with condominiums in the upper $500,000s, and the FHS side begins with Carriage Homes at $989,000. Toll also has more recorded closings, which gives buyers on that side more sales history to compare against.

Can I personalize a home? Toll Brothers' single-family Secretariat Collection is being built to order, with first move-ins expected in spring 2027.

What is still open to change around the site? The Town Square fountain, Central Park, the Cady Street connection, the apartment building and the city's master plan were all still pending or underway as of the most recent reporting.

If you're comparing a phase-one home at The Downs with an established Northville house, the details that separate them are construction timing, how much sales history exists and how the taxable value will be set. Deby Gannes can walk you through both options side by side before you sign a builder contract. Schedule a Free Consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.