Detroit Real Estate Market

The Motor City. Hockey Town. And, most recently, The D. Detroit is the most populous city in the state of Michigan with ¾ of a million people holding residence in the city. Detroit is home to consistent sports champions. Whether hockey, baseball, basketball or football…well, never mind football, Detroit holds dozens of championships and it’s rare to find a year that at least one team isn’t in the playoffs for their respective sport.

But beyond sports, Detroit has a lot of cultures to brag about. From the Fox Theatre that holds the latest and greatest stage plays and concerts to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to street-side projects like the famous Heidelburg Project to the Detroit Historical Museum and Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, you’ll never be short of finding something to help expand your mind and enjoy an afternoon or evening out with the family.

Home to Wayne State University, this world-renowned public university is the third largest in the state and 50th largest in the country. There are over 100 education and research buildings and 29,000 undergraduate and graduate students in attendance.

Detroit is the largest real estate market in the state of Michigan, and is commonly known to be the headquarters for the United States automobile industry. Detroit is home to the "Big Three" automakers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Detroit is also the birthplace of much of the music we hear today. Two very well-known nicknames used to describe the Detroit community over the years are The Motor City and Motown.

Detroit's major port status and extensive toll-free expressway system make it a prosperous location as a global business center. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is one of the world's leading research institutions and Wayne State University in Detroit has the largest single-campus medical school in the United States.

Metro Detroit is a leading corporate location with major office complexes such as the Renaissance Center, the Southfield Town Center, and Cadillac Place, with the Fisher Building in the historic New Center neighborhood.

The Detroit housing market is located north of Windsor, Ontario, making this the only U.S. city that looks south to Canada. Woodward Avenue is considered Detroit's main thoroughfare. It is the dividing line between the East Side and the West Side. In Downtown Detroit, the Fox Theatre and Detroit Institute of Arts are located on Woodward as well as the Detroit Zoo in the Royal Oak community a little farther north, just outside the city limits.

Detroit Community Amenities

Just over 15 million people visit the Metro Detroit community annually, spending almost $4.5 billion on recreation and entertainment. Detroit is the largest city or metro area to offer casino resorts. It is home to MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, Greektown Casino, and nearby Casino Windsor. Some of the main attractions each year include the North American International Auto Show, the Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, Tastefest, and most recently Detroit was the host to Super Bowl XL.

Detroit has entertainment for all, depending on the season. During the cold winter months, the Motown Winter Blast attracted a crowd of 1.2 million people to the Campus Martius Park neighborhood in Downtown, and downhill and cross country skiing flourished at Alpine Valley Ski Resort, Mount Brighton, Mount Holly, and Pine Knob Ski Resort.

During the hot summer months, Detroit's neighborhood Metroparks include Kensington Beach, Metropolitan Beach, and Stoney Creek Beach. Metro Detroit also hosts the Woodward Dream Cruise and Downriver Dream Cruise during mid-summer months.

Metro Detroit contains a number of upscale neighborhood shopping malls including the Somerset Collection in Troy and Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi. The region's leading attraction is The Henry Ford Museum, America's largest indoor-outdoor museum complex.

Detroit Neighborhood Highlights

Museums, sports, casinos, parades, concerts and much, much more. Detroit really does have it all and gives other cities a run for their money. Whether you’re a suburban Detroiter looking to explore some of the neighborhoods or you want to come check out the local bars and restaurants, you’ll find a place that matches your taste in The D. When you live or work in the city, you’ll have access to a bus system, plenty of restaurants and the proximity of the Detroit River and Detroit’s skyline. Take a jog or enjoy a day with the family and maybe have a picnic on Belle Isle.

Detroit Population

Detroit ranks as the United States' 11th most populous city, with 918,849 residents as of 2007. At one time, Detroit was the fourth largest city in the country, but it has consistently declined in population since the 1960s. The Metro Detroit area, which includes Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County, Livingston County, Washtenaw County, Lapeer County, Monroe County, Saint Clair County, & Genesee County, consists of approximately 5.4 million people and a workforce of 2.8 million. The counties of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb form the core of the Detroit community. They are sometimes informally referred to as the Tri-County Area.

Detroit Architecture

While the Downtown and New Center areas boast their share of high-rise buildings and stunning architecture, the majority of the outskirts of Detroit real estate consists of low-rise structures, single-family homes, and most recently some new condo developments. Outside of the city's downtown, apartments, high-rises, and loft-style condos are found in neighborhoods such as East Riverfront, extending toward Grosse Pointe and the Palmer Park community just west of Woodward. High-rise projects that have been popular in Detroit include Garden Lofts and Detroit Towers. Many of the city's neighborhoods were constructed prior to World War II, and feature the architecture of those times.

Wood- or aluminum-frame homes, brick ranches, bungalows, and colonials populate the working class neighborhoods, while larger brick homes reside in the vast middle-class neighborhoods. Ornate mansions can be found in neighborhoods such as Brush Park, Woodbridge, Indian Village, Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, and of course in the Voigt Park subdivision, located in the famous Boston Edison District. The Boston Edison District is unique because it is one of the few communities in the city of Detroit where a handful of houses were designed by well-known architects such as Albert Kahn and boast upwards of 10,000-15,000 square feet. The Boston Edison District is in the vicinity of Chicago and Woodward Avenue.

Bank foreclosures have never been so evident in the city as in the past three years. The resulting decrease in property values has made it increasingly difficult for homeowners to refinance their houses. More and more homeowners cannot afford the property taxes to live in the city of Detroit, and the population has decreased because many homeowners are finding it more economical to live in the suburbs.

Detroit Neighborhoods

The oldest neighborhoods are along the Woodward and Jefferson corridors, while newer communities, built as late as the 1950s, are found in the far west and closer to 8 Mile Road. 8 Mile Road, known by many because of the film 8 Mile, forms the dividing line between Detroit on the south and the suburbs of Macomb and Oakland counties in the north. It is also known as Baseline Road outside of Detroit, because it coincides with the baseline used in surveying Michigan; that baseline is also the boundary for a number of Michigan counties as well as the boundary for Illinois and Wisconsin.

Some of the oldest extant communities include Corktown, a working class, formerly Irish neighborhood, and Brush Park. Both are now seeing million-dollar redevelopments and construction of new homes and condos. Major parks in Detroit include Belle Isle, Palmer Park, River Rouge Park, Chene Park, and Campus Martius Park.

Detroit Skyscrapers

Detroit Local Businesses

The Metro Detroit real estate market is host to the headquarters for the U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, known as TACOM, with Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of America's largest and most recently modernized facilities, and a very large employer. Borg Warner, TRW Automotive Holdings, Compuware, IBM, Google, and Covansys all chose Metro Detroit for their new headquarters, or have a major presence in Metro Detroit. Quicken Loans, National City Bank, Ernst & Young, GMAC, Visteon, and OnStar are all companies that have been expanding the past few years in the Detroit community.

Detroit Historical Facts

The history of a city such as Detroit goes back centuries. 1701, to be exact. It was at this time that it was first settled in what was New France, as a fur trading post. In 1805, a man named Augustus Woodward devised a street plan similar to the nation's capitol. From Campus Martius outward, you'll find streets that stretch out like spokes on a wheel. During the War of 1812, Detroit was surrendered and not returned until after the war in 1815.

Throughout the 1800s Detroit turned into quite the industrial hub, which fed into the 20th century's boom in industry and manufacturing and, with mansions being built in the downtown community, Detroit became known as the Paris of the West.

Enter the automotive industry. With the mega-boom of the car industry, Detroit became an industrial powerhouse. When World War II came around, the factories transitioned to supply war material and by 1943, one B-24 Liberator was being produced every hour, every day, for 24 hours straight. At its peak, 600 B-24s were produced in a month.

Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, many residents began heading out toward the suburbs, but the pride of Detroit still held strong.

Detroit has suffered from decades of corruption and urban blight, but now you'll find that the city "the world had forgotten" is making an incredible comeback with business and commerce slowly arriving.

Detroit Demographics

• Population: 713,862 (according to 2010 census)

• Median Age: 34.8

• Median Household Income: $28,357

• Median House Cost: $80,400

• 11.8% of the population over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree or higher

Detroit Geographical Location

Coming in from out-of-town or looking to get away for a weekend? Detroit is nestled in the Midwest, in a convenient location to many other major cities and attractions.

• Detroit Metropolitan Airport - Looking to fly out of town? DTW is about 22 minutes from downtown Detroit.

• Lansing, MI - 80 minutes away

• Traverse City, MI - 4 hours away

• Kalamazoo, MI - 2 hours, 5 minutes away

• Toledo, OH - 1 hour away

• Cleveland, OH - 2 hours, 35 minutes away

• Chicago, IL - 4 hours, 10 minutes away

• Pittsburgh, PA - 4 hours, 15 minutes away

The Rosa Parks Transit Terminal offers bus service in and around the city, and a Greyhound terminal with a bus system that can get you to many of the major cities listed above.

Detroit City Information

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