Orion township has been discovered by builders who are carving out beautiful new subdivisions in what had been a rural area for a long time. The areas has had outstanding growth during the 1990's. Typically, homes on large lots and acreage are joined by new upscale subdivisions and lake homes. The GM Orion plant and other auto-related industries are located here, along with a new Beaumont, Home Depot and more. Major recreation areas include the 4,500 acre Bald Mountain State Recreation Area with approximately twenty-three miles of non-motorized paths, and the 900 acre Orion Oaks County Park. Civic Center Park is 45 acres adjacent to Township Hall. It has picnic areas, softball/baseball diamonds, soccer fields, playgrounds, basketball courts, volleyball pit and a sheltered pavilion and exercise trail. Friendship Park is a 135 acre park with ball diamonds and soccer fields.
The Village of Lake Orion developed in the early 1900's as a summer resort with cottages clustered around the lake. Over time, these small summer dwellings were enlarged and converted to year-round homes. As interest in waterfront property grows, it is not uncommon for smaller lakefront homes to be bought and torn down for the construction of larger, more expensive housing. The commercial area and downtown are situated along M-24, the major north-south highway connecting Pontiac with Lapeer.
Please check out my neighborhood site for Lake Orion and Orion Twp for maps and demographics. And please refer to the links below; they will be updated often. If you have any suggestions or requests for area information to be added to this site, please call us toll free at (800)401-1444 or e-mail us at Jackie@JackieHawley.com.
2005 wasn't a great year for the Orion area. According to Realcomp MLS, unit sales were down over 25% from 2004. But the average sales price did go from $256,293 to $270,847, an increase of 5.4%. It's still a buyers market because of the huge inventory. 364 houses sold in 2005, but as of 1/22/2006 there are 352 houses for sale through the MLS. The houses are selling are priced competitively and on average selling within 1% of their asking price in 2005 and within 2% in 2004.
