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With bidding stalled on some of the least desirable residences in Detroit’s collapsing housing market, even the fast-talking auctioneer was feeling the stress.
“Folks, the ground underneath the house goes with it. You do know that, right?” he offered.
After selling house after house in the Motor City for less than the $29,000 it costs to buy the average new car, the auctioneer tried a new line: “The lumber in the house is worth more than that!”
As Detroit reels from job losses in the U.S. auto industry, the depressed city has emerged as a boomtown in one area: foreclosed property.
This story has a few twists and turns in it. It speaks to a lot of different issues: Unemployment, Economonic Revitalization, Racism and Corporate Greed. It’s definitely a story worth reading in it’s entirety.
Houses cheaper than cars in Detroit
Posted by Rich (subbing for Lo)
The Lo Zone 
>Oh, my goodness. I am so sick of hearing about my city. I know there are plenty of houses that are more than a car. Sadly, we are having problems but who isn't.
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>that's the move right there…buy a house, renovation it, sit on it, and resell later…the value will definitely rise. i'm sure many of those homes are near the downtown area (i'on know, never been to detroit)….but i'm noticing in the south, low-incomes houses and projects near the downtown area are being torn down left and right, replaced by condos, luxury homes.it's called gentrification. it's happening in harlem usa too!
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>Yeah, I saw this earlier on Yahoo. Wish I had a couple hundred thousand to go in a buy up a bunch of these and wait.Man, what happened (is happening) in Harlem is so so sad. A friend of mine wrote a book called The Queen of Harlem and in it is a real estate agent saying something like, "you know what they say, wait for the gays." Ironically that's exactly what happened in Harlem. A few white gay boys were pioneers and now you can't find anything that's affordable. At one time you could have gotten an old brownstone for a steal and now you'll pay over $500k for a shell. Gone are the days of grand Strivers Row.
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>Lance, it is not around the downtown area, it is in several areas.
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>even if it's not in the downtown area, more than likely, that kinda price for real estate in a "metro area" will be a boon for some investor looking down the road.
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>by the way, juan…last year, i was listening to regis & kelly on t.v. they were mentioning that harlem was the best real estate investment in the city……and bill clinton opening up shop didn't hurt either.
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>Yeah, when ole Bill moved in the neighborhood everyone else was like, damn he must be onto something.
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>Sadly, my beloved Chocolate City is now MILKY thanx to good old gentrification…hmmm, with the ability to work online, now – maybe i should move to detroit! i've only been there once and the houses were BEAUTIFUL (& yards HUGE)!! i don't like the cold, but hell, i've lasted here in nyc & never imagined that either! LOL! gotta laugh to keep from crying!
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>This seems to be a nationwide…it's not limited to one part of the country unforunately.
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