Is Detroit real estate a bargain?

Buying real estate in Detroit may not be an obvious investment idea, but Realtor.com included it in its Top Ten Turnaround Towns in a study of residential real estate markets in the second quarter.

“Most noteworthy is Detroit’s ranking at No. 7. Though the city recently filed bankruptcy, the market nonetheless posted strong improvement in the second quarter. Its median list prices on realtor.com® were 37.8 percent higher for the quarter than they were a year ago, while inventories were down 26.5 percent. The market’s median age of inventory is just 45 days, the second lowest in the nation.”

“Detroit has made remarkable progress in the last year, shrinking its inventory of unsold homes by more than 26 percent and becoming one of the most balanced markets in the nation,” said Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move.  “We’ll be watching the inventory levels in the months ahead, but if this past quarter is any indication, Detroit won’t be giving up without a fight.”

Contrarians can read the report here.

A more optimistic view of Detroit’s future is offered in this article