Quote Originally Posted by English View Post
I'm not sure that the housing market here or nationally will ever recover without some major coercive policies or an influx of immigration. There simply aren't enough of my Generation X or the Millennials who are going to be able to afford to buy these houses, let alone want the albatross for ourselves. We're marrying later and having smaller families. If people want to sell their houses now or within the next 10-20 years at a profit, you had better hope for a general amnesty or some rather creative lending.
Hello English:

I suggest a closer exam of the article and the Case – Shiller Index is warranted.

If you really exam the CS Index you will see how different Detroit [[actually the 6 counties comprising the MSA) is from the rest of the nation. We are VERY unique

The Case-Shiller Index is a very important tool and needs to be understood by everyone. The 20 City [[average) index number is 140.86. In other words, the average home in the 20 largest cities is worth 40.86% MORE than it was in 2000.

But Detroit is VERY different from the average – we are the WORST in the nation with an index score of 66.02. That is our homes are worth 33.98% LESS than they were in 2000.

The next closest cities to Detroit are Cleveland [[99.36), Las Vegas [[99.23) and Atlanta [[99.59). All are down by less than 1.0% off their 2000 values. Detroit is not even CLOSE to the next lowest cities. We are 33% LESS than they are!

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. leads the nation at an index of 183.75 or home appreciation of 83.75% since 2000.

In December 2005 Detroit had its highest CS index ever at 127.05 and it has been downhill ever since. Currently, there are 7 cities on the list that went through the same market meltdown as we did but still an index score of greater than 127.05 – our best year.

Let’s see a few examples. Assume the home you bought in 2000 cost $150,000. Below is a list of what the home is worth today:

Detroit: $99,030 – a LOSS of $50,970
Cleveland, Atlanta and Las Vegas: $149,100 – a LOSS of just $900
Twenty City Average: $211,290 – a GAIN of $61,290
Washington, D.C.: $275,625 – a GAIN of $125,625

You ask, “…who can afford to buy these homes?” Well, just about anybody. We have some of the cheapest housing prices in the nation. That is what you get when supply vastly exceeds demand. And remember the demand is created by people having jobs.

So, if you want to see your home go up in value, then work to create more jobs.

Using the CS Index as a proxy, it appears that we have worked very hard to discourage job growth here.