Fixing Detroit’s housing market is a slow, intensive process that still has people divided on whether or not it even is recovering.
HousingWire itself runs headlines fueling both sides of the argument, which include, “Zillow: Detroit’s housing status is ‘deeply troubling’” and “Is Detroit really the hottest housing market right now?"
The Urban Institute recently published a piece on the continued but uneven recovery in Detroit’s housing market.
From the piece:
The city still faces very real problems: population decline, fiscal insecurity, a weak housing market, and blight. While there is not yet consensus on Detroit’s path forward, a wide range of stakeholders, including philanthropy, business, nonprofits, and the public sector have invested significant resources (and brainpower) to restore prosperity to what was once the fourth most populous city in the United States.
The blog highlights two main components of Detroit’s housing market:
1. Home prices are up
Home prices in the city of Detroit are rising but remain historically low, with overall prices up 19% in the first three quarters of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014.
2. Delinquency rates are down
In September 2015, overall delinquency rates stood at 11.9%, down 22% from September 2014 and on pace to drop below pre-crisis levels.
Detroit is at least catching the attention of lenders. In addition to Quicken Loans, which famous for its passion for the city, HomeBridge Financial Service’s opened a new office in the Detroit suburb as the start of a huge push by the lender to grow in the area.
