Buyers comparing Williamsburg to Acme, East Bay, and Elk Rapids tend to anchor on the same three numbers: the median sale price, the days on market, and whatever a similar three-bedroom is grossing on Airbnb next door. In 2026, that anchor is off. The Williamsburg median is doing something almost no other Northern Michigan submarket is doing, and the mechanism behind it has almost nothing to do with the house itself.
It has to do with a township ordinance that hasn't passed yet, in a room most out-of-market buyers will never sit in, and the outcome of that vote will reprice the same shingle-sided cottage two very different ways.
The rule most Williamsburg buyers don't know exists
The Williamsburg mailing address covers most of Whitewater Township. And in Whitewater Township, zoning does not allow short-term rentals in areas zoned R-1, and STRs are viewed as a commercial business. That is the current rule as stated in the Planning Commission's own May 2025 minutes. A house you buy off Skegemog Lake Road, off Elk Lake Road, or in a lakefront R-1 subdivision cannot legally operate as a nightly rental today, regardless of what platforms will happily list it for you.
This is a live issue rather than a settled one. In August 2025, township planners spent a four-hour meeting considering a draft ordinance presented by Rachel Steelman and Eric Johnson that would allow the practice, currently not permitted in the township's residential districts, while providing safeguards against issues that frequently drive opposition. The planning commission held a follow-up special meeting and public hearing on July 22, 2026 at the HERTHA Building at 401 River Street in Elk Rapids, and the ordinance still has not gone to the township board for a final vote.
What the draft ordinance actually asks for
The Steelman and Johnson draft is not a light regulatory touch. It is a permit regime with occupancy math, and the math matters when you're pricing a purchase against expected nightly revenue.
- All STRs would need a permit from the township, with maximum occupancies set at two adults per bedroom, plus two more people on properties smaller than 5 acres, or four more people on larger lots.
- Events would be banned outright, safety measures like smoke alarms and fire extinguishers would be required, and a contact person would have to be available around the clock to address concerns from renter or neighbor alike.
- The township's own master plan survey found roughly a third of respondents opposed allowing STRs and two-thirds supported the idea, with Chairman Keith DeYoung noting that support figure included a third of respondents who said they were open to STRs provided they were properly regulated.
Two-thirds support sounds like a green light. It isn't. The Whitewater Township board rejected a short-term rental plan in 2018 that would have allowed residents to build new structures on their lots and rent them out on sites like Airbnb; the idea came from the planning commission but was met with resistance from the community. The same pattern, planners forward, board hesitates, is in the room again. Planners didn't vote either way on whether to recommend the ordinance to trustees; the issue picked up urgency after township trustees began considering a resolution to fine unsanctioned STRs.
Why the price chart doesn't tell you any of this
Now put the ordinance next to the market data. Williamsburg's median hit $645,000 and was accelerating at 22.28% year over year, a pace well above the surrounding submarkets in the same read of the region. A buyer looking at that number, then looking at what a comparable three-bedroom generates a mile east or south, will draw an obvious conclusion. It will be wrong for most Williamsburg parcels.
| Township | STR use in R-1 residential (as of mid-2026) | Practical implication for a 3BR waterfront buy |
|---|---|---|
| Whitewater (most Williamsburg addresses) | Not permitted; ordinance under debate | STR revenue cannot be underwritten today |
| Acme | Permitted with local rules | STR revenue is a real income line |
| East Bay | Permitted with permit regime | STR revenue is a real income line |
The gap is not cosmetic. There are over 6,100 active short-term rental listings in the north coast market, STR supply grew 39.7% between 2021 and 2025, peak occupancy hits 72.3%, and when a three-bedroom in Acme Township generates $50,000 to $80,000 in gross annual STR revenue, it stops being priced as a home for a family and starts being priced as a commercial asset. That last sentence is the whole thesis of this post. Williamsburg's headline appreciation is happening even though the STR revenue stream inflating its neighbors' comps is legally unavailable here today. Either the market has priced in the ordinance passing, or it has priced in something else entirely.
The something else is worth naming. Williamsburg's median exploded to $645,000, a 22.28% year-over-year surge, with only 64 active listings and a price per square foot of $309; when buyers get priced out of downtown Traverse City and Leelanau waterfront inventory goes dark, capital spills east and Williamsburg absorbs it fast. Golf, resort, and ridge lots are doing a lot of work here. If the STR vote fails, a buyer paying $645,000 has bought a primary or second home in a scarce corridor, which is a defensible thesis. If the buyer paid $645,000 assuming Airbnb income, the thesis breaks the day the trustees vote no.
The friction this creates at the closing table
The pain shows up in three places, and it shows up before you close, not after.
The first is due diligence. Whitewater Township's zoning administrator, Deb Graber, is the contact of record, and the answer today is the same one it was in the May 2025 minutes: STRs are not allowed in R-1, and they are viewed as a commercial business. A verbal from a listing agent that "everyone rents these" is not a substitute for the parcel's zoning designation and a call to the township. Some subdivisions carry additional deed restrictions on top of township zoning, and those restrictions do not evaporate if the ordinance passes.
The second is enforcement risk. From the August 2025 hearing:
Gordon Friese said he already has several near his Skegemog Point address and they've caused him considerable problems. No matter who he calls for enforcement, no one shows up, either.
Read that quote from the buy side. It is a resident telling planners that unpermitted STRs are already operating in R-1 areas. If you buy one of those homes today betting the status quo continues, you are betting against the exact grievance driving the ordinance forward. A trustee vote that adds teeth, or a separate resolution to fine unsanctioned operators, changes your carrying math overnight.
The third is appraisal and resale. If a comparable sale involved an Acme or East Bay STR-permitted parcel, that comp is not clean for a Whitewater Township appraisal. A thoughtful appraiser will adjust. A thoughtful buyer should adjust before writing the offer.
How to read a Williamsburg address before you sign
- Pull the parcel's township and zoning designation. If it's Whitewater R-1, treat STR income as zero for underwriting until the ordinance passes and your specific address qualifies.
- Read the current draft ordinance and the planning commission minutes yourself. The Planning Commission special meeting and public hearing was held July 22, 2026 at the HERTHA Building, 401 River Street in Elk Rapids, with the Regular Township Board Meeting the following morning, and the packets are posted on the township site.
- Check for deed restrictions on top of zoning. Island Lake, for example, was zoned R-1 Residential and granted private status by the State of Michigan, and its subdivision deed restrictions govern residential use. Two layers of rule, not one.
- Price the home against its highest legal use today, not its aspirational use tomorrow. If the STR pathway opens later, that is upside you did not pay for.
- Ask your agent to model both outcomes. The same offer looks aggressive if the ordinance fails and conservative if it passes with the current draft's occupancy caps.
That last point is where local representation earns its fee. The Williamsburg market is one of the few in Northern Michigan where a single township vote can move an individual home's carrying economics by tens of thousands of dollars a year in either direction. A buyer who understands that walks in with a different offer, different contingencies, and a different holding plan than a buyer who priced off the MLS median alone.
FAQ
Is the whole Williamsburg mailing area under Whitewater Township? No. The 49690 zip covers parts of Whitewater and pieces of neighboring townships. STR rules change at township lines rather than zip lines, which is why the parcel's township of record is the number that actually matters.
If the ordinance passes, does every Whitewater Township home automatically qualify for an STR permit? No. The draft requires a permit application, occupancy caps tied to lot size, a 24/7 contact, and an event ban. Two adults per bedroom plus two more on lots under 5 acres or four more on larger lots, no events, and around-the-clock contact are the current terms. A large-group rental play does not fit that envelope even under the friendly scenario.
What if I buy now and just operate quietly until the rules change? That is the exact behavior residents cited in the public hearing as the reason to write the ordinance in the first place. The township is already considering a resolution to fine unsanctioned STRs. Buying into that risk is a business decision, not a real estate one, and it belongs in a spreadsheet with a downside case.
If you are weighing a Williamsburg purchase and want a parcel-specific read on township, zoning, deed restrictions, and how the pending ordinance changes your underwriting, Craig Real Estate walks buyers through this one address at a time. Explore the Williamsburg neighborhood page, pull a quick number on your target home through the home valuation tool, or schedule your free consultation and we'll pull the parcel with you.
