Wow. Here is a fairly nice looking (although needs many repairs) brick home in Detroit listed for $1. I assume buyer pays closing costs and realtor fees and this may be a trick to draw viewers to the listing but either way this is a amazing. I dont know anything about the neighborhood but it must be hideous:
(http://p.rdcpix.com/v01/l4ad2c041-m0m.jpg)
12697 MEYERS RD
DETROIT, MI 48227
http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?loc=Detroit%2c+MI&mxp=100&sid=8bf0815932e948ecbf4103adcf04ce6c&pg=2&fhpg=2&lid=1103155786&lsn=13&srcnt=18
Its on the westside of Detroit, just south of I-96. Its not in the worst area of the city, but its not the best area either. The problem is the market in inner city Detroit is so bad, these types of deals are all over town. From looking at google earth, it appears to be next to two decaying apartment complexes. Imo, it would be better to pay for $500 or $1k for a house in a more viable area of the city.
At some point you would think that the old houses would get so cheap that gentrification would inevitably have to occur despite the incredibly inept and corrupt Detroit city government. Is any of this happening in Detroit that you know of?
Good point RG. Also, I wonder what the taxes would be on a place like that? Could be a reason nobody's bought it.
Quote from: RiversideGator on October 02, 2008, 01:25:38 PM
At some point you would think that the old houses would get so cheap that gentrification would inevitably have to occur despite the incredibly inept and corrupt Detroit city government. Is any of this happening in Detroit that you know of?
In areas closer to downtown, revitalization is taking place. However, Detroit had over 2 million residents in 1950. Today, its around 900,000. Houses like the one above are all over the city. It may take just as many years to rebuild as it took to decay to this point.
More on Detroit housing prices from my favorite economics blog, carpe diem:
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_otfwl2zc6Qc/SPZtYRMYMkI/AAAAAAAAF5Q/1NsxhquT1dc/s400/det.bmp)
QuoteThe good news is that home sales in the city of Detroit through July are up by a whopping +44% (YTD) compared to last year (7,275 homes sold in 2008 YTD vs. 5,055 last year), but the bad news is that the average price for a home sold in Detroit has fallen by 55.7% to only $18,822 so far this this year, compared to an average price last year of $42,502 for the January-August period! Compared to the peak of $97,850 for the average Detroit home price in 2003, prices have fallen by almost 81% (see chart above, values are annual except for 2008, which is YTD, data available here).
Bottom Line: As I have reported before, the average priced house in Detroit ($18,822) is cheaper than the average price new car ($22,650).
http://mjperry.blogspot.com/
Apparently the cheap housing prices are driving sales higher in Detroit and Michigan at large. Read more here:
QuoteAccording to the Michigan Association of Realtors, home sales YTD (through October) in Michigan are up by +1.02% compared to last year, from 85,270 houses sold through October 2007 to 86,138 YTD this year. The YTD average home price in Michigan fell by -15%, from $141,681 last year to $120,418 this year.
For the city of Detroit, home sales are up by a whopping 47% from 6,411 houses YTD in 2007 to 9,420 this year, as the average YTD price fell by 54% to $18,513 this year from $40,011 in 2007 (see chart above).
DETROIT NEWS -- Metro Detroit home sales rose again for the eleventh straight month, figures released Thursday show, though prices have continued a precipitous slide. According to data released by Realcomp, the Farmington Hills-based multiple listing service, November home sales increased 20.5% throughout the metro area compared to the same month last year; 4,644 homes sold this November, up from 3,853 sold in the same month last year.
Average prices for the metro area declined 45.4% to $62,800; last November, the average price was $115,000.
MP: The real estate market in Michigan is apparently in a major recovery process as falling home prices are stimulating home sales in Detroit and around the state. If it can happen in Michigan, it can happen any where.
http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/12/falling-home-prices-stimulate-sales-in.html