Investing on the Avenue of Fashion

[YounginDetroit]

I've been considering buying my first home in the southwestern portion of 7 Mile and Livernois I was wondering if somebody in this forum lives in the area to offer some advice on the matter. I saw the Light up Livernois event and the prices will do nothing but go up in the near future. I'm just worried how long before the neighborhood starts to feel like Corktown-esque in terms of retail action and prominence. Any advice is helpful, if you have any questions on the matter please don't hesitate to ask.

[DetroitPlanner]

That part of town still has a lot of well moneyed people. If you can figure out how to cater to them, and keep out the riff raff [[play classical music) then your retail venture could be successful.

http://www.areavibes.com/detroit-mi/.../demographics/
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/MI-...ople/r_270047/

[mwilbert]

1) I think that the Avenue of Fashion portion of Livernois is improving a bit, but I can't say I would be sure that prices would only go up in the near future. That area doesn't really resemble Corktown in any way that I can think of.

2) The housing quality on either side of Livernois between 6 and 7 is fairly comparable, although in general I would say the houses to the east are a bit nicer. But in my opinion the University District neighborhood is in better shape than Bagley, and certainly the demographics are stronger, so if I were buying and I could buy a house on either side for similar money, I would favor the University District.

In general the prices are higher, but there are still some foreclosures and other distressed properties available. I know of a couple of nice houses coming up for auction that you might want to consider. You might also consider one of the two-families in the southwest corner of the University District, but you would need to keep your eyes open because so far as I know none of them is currently on the market. But something will probably show up in the next month or two.

[stasu1213]

Buy now while the housing price is still low for the area

[DetroitPlanner]

That part of town still has a lot of well moneyed people. If you can figure out how to cater to them, and keep out the riff raff [[play classical music) then your retail venture could be successful.

http://www.areavibes.com/detroit-mi/.../demographics/
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/MI-...ople/r_270047/

I just admitted to posting while half-asleep on another thread. I see this area as stable. I must have confused "Avenue of Fashion" with you wanting to buy or open retail. Sorry folks.

[Hamtragedy]

Totally agree with mwilbert. Prices in University District are still pretty depressed, there are several boarded up homes on Wildemere and even Parkside, which to the longerstanding residents is unimaginable.

However if you must venture west of Livernois, the four or five streets between Outer Drive and Seven Mile are still pretty nice. The blocks south of seven mile can be hit or miss, north of Curtis. Once you get to Northlawn, Orangelawn or Cherrylawn, the blocks south of Curtis, down to about Marygrove and west to Wyoming, are quite nice as well, but once again, hit or miss. Many of these houses are pretty big 2500+ sq ft.

Since this is your first post here, welcome. Just remember Detroit is one giant city full of little islands, so choose your block wisely. And don't deny that if there is a shitty block directly behind you, you will have to inevitably deal with that.

[hybridy]

University District has great housing stock. My favorite house in the city is 18635 Parkside. A tasteful Mediterranean style colonial [[if such a thing exists). I would stay closer to 7 mile, but UDM is right at McNichols and that creates somewhat of a nice critical mass with daily commuters. I lived at Oak Dr & Santa Maria 10 years back. Was fine at the time, but not so much these days. I would check out homes on Fairway Dr as it is blocked off on McNichols.