Outside buyers are the latest in a long line of landlords taking over the deteriorating housing stock of a city that because of its once-mighty auto industry boasted one of the highest owner-occupied housing rates in the United States. Such investors aren't interested in only Detroit, but it's been targeted because values have fallen so much more than elsewhere.
Detroit now has the lowest ownership rate for single-family detached homes of the 20 largest US cities, according to data analyzed by longtime Detroit demographer Kurt Metzger.
Even the sale of US Housing and Urban Development homes has been affected by the poor climate. The average sales prices of such homes plunged from $46,702 in 2003 to $8,692 last year. Through the first month of 2009, the average sale was $6,035.
The winners might be the renters lucky enough to live in a house that's been fixed up by a legitimate landlord. The losers might be those who end up in less reputable hands.
The recent rush offers some experts hope for a housing market with no better options left. Property values drop when homes are rented, but in many cases the alternative is an empty house.
"At times, it's the only way to get the homes occupied," said John Mogk, a Wayne State law school professor.
