• Low house prices in Motor City heartbreaking: Detroit is home to affordable houses, but this is turning out to be an issue as low property values are eroding homeowner equity.
• Bargain basement prices for no good reason: The affordable prices, while alluring, stem from causes unrelated (no crime-mageddon, alien invasion, or zombie apocalypse). Instead, the culprit is decades of systematic racism and disinvestment.
• Glaring value disparities sharpening social divide: Mortgages are more expensive in lower-value neighborhoods due to risk-based pricing, leading to even wider wealth disparities.
• Low-value home loans – the next Big Bad Wolf: Mortgage companies and banks are shying away from providing loans to different groups due to profitability concerns, leaving many potential homeowners high and dry.
• Limited opportunities for lower-income families: The inability to secure housing loans locks many Detroit residents out of resources and opportunities, strengthening the iron grip of the poverty cycle.
• Needed: Superhero, tools in hand: The article advocates for the development of tools and programs that can improve home values and ensure equal access to opportunities across all of Detroit.

Now, brace yourself for my hot take!

You thought the Detroit housing market was a dream? Think again!

We get it, folks – the dream of many a guy or gal is to head to Detroit, shovel out a handful of change, and walk away a homeowner. But the word on the lane is that these price tags are doing more harm than good! Our juicy news piece from Lee Davenport takes us on a wild ride into the struggling neighborhoods of Motor City.

Is Detroit’s affordable housing a blessing or a jinx?

The super affordable housing in Detroit, while initially as attractive as a seasoned burrito to a starving man, may actually be a Fiat in Lamborghini clothing. The socio-economic equivalent of a ticking bomb, these cheap prices are not thanks to alien invasions or mass haunt-ons. Rather, they hark back to decades of systematic racism and disinvestment, leading to tumultuous markets that cut into homeowner equity. ‘Life isn’t always a party,’ said no Detroit resident ever!

A House Divided Cannot Stand

This devaluation of homes has led to an almost Kafkaesque reality – low-income neighborhoods face more expensive mortgages due to risk-based pricing, causing a widening wealth gap that rivals the canyons of Mars. But fear not, my fiscal adventurers! Our trusty journalist urges policy changes that revolve around the development of tools and initiatives to improve housing values.

So, next time you drool over that adorable, super-cheap bungalow down in Detroit, remember: all that glitters is not gold, it might just be the yelp of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Original article: https://www.inman.com/2024/01/31/the-detroit-lions-loss-is-nothing-next-to-its-lowball-appraisals/