Detroit Home Sells at Low Price, Really Low

Think the housing market is rough in New York or California?

By: Ryan Hartley

Imagine being the seller of a home in Detroit that recently sold for $1. Yes, you read correctly, the house which was once called “the nicest on the block” took 19 days to sell at the low price. It’s not the only property in Detroit listed at this rate. Following the selling of the home another realtor representing properties in Detroit placed two more listings on the MLS. These listing include a vacant lot and a duplex.

Detroit is experiencing a high rate of late payments, foreclosures, and abandonment as buyers are being forced to give up on homes that they just can’t afford. When the Bearing Group placed the home on the market in January they were only asking $1100 but no one was willing to pay the price. In the 8 months since the original listing the house has fallen into further ill repair. Squatters took up residence; anything of value including the furnace and wiring were stolen. Boards used to cover the windows were later found covering the windows of another property just down the street from the home. The garage was recently the scene of a fire and the front windows have been broken. On top of all the other problems the home has no doors, no plumbing, and no siding because it was all taken by scrappers. The new owners aren’t purchasing a home merely the shell of one.