Foreign Investors Behind Soaring Real Estate Prices in City of Detroit

[Lowell]

Median sale price of City of Detroit houses have risen 41% since this time last year and 275% over the last five years. The median price of $38K is the skew, but if you're an investor, its percentages that matter and savvy investors are jumping in and driving those even more. Good news for Detroit tax collections, not so much for prospective home buyers as seen in this quote from today's Crains.

"The crazy thing about Detroit is, I don't think a lot of people understand how much international investment there is in the city in the residential market," Evans [a real estate agent] said. "They are pretty much using the Detroit [[residential) real estate market as an investment vehicle. Purchasing a home here ... versus buying a similar home in California might be a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars. As the market continues to gain in value, they can make a substantial profit."

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-as-prices-ris

[Ray1936]

Along those lines, I was pleased to read an Associated Press article in today's Las Vegas Review-Journal titled, "Detroit rebuilding five years after bankruptcy". It was extremely positive. I still hope they will some day reinstate my retiree's healthcare, though. Paying for my own Medicare supplement runs about 500 a month plus change.

[O3H]

I think most of the "profit" will end up in the original investors hands
and the residents of Detroit will get the short end of the stick.

Having someone else fix up the cheap house, means the end product is more expensive, and will involve higher property taxes, for the Detroiter.

[night-timer]

I'm looking at two fairly run-down condo's on Jefferson at $50k and $55k each.

Free rent to the caretaker if the place is kept clean and secure.

But you have to share the place with me whenever I'm in The D, which might be for 1 to 3 months per year, maximum. [[I don't do mortgages - they suck - I only pay cash.)

Will Detroit accept me as a decent absentee landlord and investor? I believe opinions on this are mixed - or fierce - or so I've heard.

I like the City of Detroit, but I can't stay permanently. Jefferson Avenue is a good spot, but I might be over-paying on those particular properties until I look at them in person.

[Wesley Mouch]

I think most of the "profit" will end up in the original investors hands
and the residents of Detroit will get the short end of the stick.

Having someone else fix up the cheap house, means the end product is more expensive, and will involve higher property taxes, for the Detroiter.

Someone brings money to Detroit. Injects money into our economy. And they are blamed?

Perhaps it would be better to leave the houses in shit condition.

Detroit needs to be open to all investment. Blaming 'foreigners' is offensive to me.

So on one hand, we don't want people to make investment decisions based on race, and here we want to use ethnicity against others? Racism is not cured by racism.

[Richard]

I think most of the "profit" will end up in the original investors hands
and the residents of Detroit will get the short end of the stick.

Having someone else fix up the cheap house, means the end product is more expensive, and will involve higher property taxes, for the Detroiter.

That is kinda how it works and the whole point of it all,the recourse of local government is to enact policies that retain affordable housing options.

Which they have.

[SammyS]

Someone brings money to Detroit. Injects money into our economy. And they are blamed?

Perhaps it would be better to leave the houses in shit condition.

Detroit needs to be open to all investment. Blaming 'foreigners' is offensive to me.

So on one hand, we don't want people to make investment decisions based on race, and here we want to use ethnicity against others? Racism is not cured by racism.

Thank you. Exactly what I was thinking. I have a condo in a community where prices have soared recently. How many owners are upset? ZERO and most are Af. Am.

This was bound to happen. Investors see opportunity where others see excuses. NY investors came in early. Before them, Chinese were land banking in the D. Now, we have empty nesters and young professionals from the suburbs moving in. All is good for Detroit and we should encourage more of it.

For those who feel like they’ve missed out, venture a couple of miles outside of the hot areas and you’ll find opportunity that better suits your risk threashold.

[Meddle]

For those who feel like they’ve missed out, venture a couple of miles outside of the hot areas and you’ll find opportunity that better suits your risk threashold.

I would imagine there are still a few places where you could acquire a property for under $5K, though it would no doubt need extensive work.

I'd like to see a property tax abatement for owner-occupants. Something like a 75% reduction off the base rate for the first 5 years, then go to 50% for the next 5 years. Goal would be to get more people paying something so that the base rate could be reduced for all at some point. More people paying less could yield more cash over all.

[Richard]

I would imagine there are still a few places where you could acquire a property for under $5K, though it would no doubt need extensive work.

I'd like to see a property tax abatement for owner-occupants. Something like a 75% reduction off the base rate for the first 5 years, then go to 50% for the next 5 years. Goal would be to get more people paying something so that the base rate could be reduced for all at some point. More people paying less could yield more cash over all.

There is an app for that.

https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf...r_the_tax.html

http://www.detroitmi.gov/Portals/0/d...Z_FAQ_info.pdf