Discuss Detroit » Archives - July 2008 » Detroit is Affordable « Previous Next »
Top of pageBottom of page

Sg9018
Member
Username: Sg9018

Post Number: 228
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 1:27 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Detroit,Dearborn, Warren and Livonia is on the top of the list for one of the most affordable cities in the nation. National Association of Home Builders did the study. The study is based on the national median income of $61,500.
Watch the report,
http://www.wxyz.com/news/local /story.aspx?content_id=866ae4a e-63ae-419e-993b-7379081dca7f
Top of pageBottom of page

Ltorivia485
Member
Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 3060
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 3:53 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes, Detroit is affordable but it's not among the most desirable cities to reside in.

The most expensive cities happen to be the places where most people want to relocate and job opportunities are plentiful.
Top of pageBottom of page

Iheartthed
Member
Username: Iheartthed

Post Number: 3421
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 3:59 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Why do they list Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills as two separate markets again?
Top of pageBottom of page

Cman710
Member
Username: Cman710

Post Number: 458
Registered: 07-2006
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 4:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

ltorivia485: You are right that Detroit is affordable but not among the most desirable cities to reside in.
But, while expensive cities frequently do indicate places where people want to relocate, and where job opportunities are plentiful, there are also places that are on the cheaper side (e.g., Houston, TX) that have experienced incredible job growth and have had great population increases. So there are places that are on the cheaper side that are desirable. We need to work on making Detroit one of them!
Top of pageBottom of page

Fmstack
Member
Username: Fmstack

Post Number: 81
Registered: 06-2007
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 8:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Something I found moving to the Detroit area as a renter is that the cheaper cost of housing was more than offset by the necessity of owning a car and of driving it all over creation to get anything done. I'm back in an expensive-rent coastal city now, paying 300 dollars more a month for a bit less space than I had in Hamtramck, but being able to live car-free (and thus forego gas and insurance) more than offsets that.

Granted, this might be different in the home-ownership market, since that's even more distorted in the hot cities than the rental market.
Top of pageBottom of page

Mwilbert
Member
Username: Mwilbert

Post Number: 345
Registered: 11-2007
Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008 - 9:57 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

If you live someplace where you can eliminate car ownership, it certainly can offset a lot of housing cost. But a many people need cars even in places where you can get along without them. When I lived in Cambridge, MA, I mostly walked, biked and used the T, but my wife and I still needed a car, although we didn't drive that many miles. The big savings is getting rid of the car altogether, but that is harder. What I think is true for more people is that where transit is better a family may be able to use only one car rather than two or three. You would also probably be paying a lot more than an extra 300 dollars rent to live in Cambridge. And of course it also depends upon how much you need to travel.

The hourly car rental services like Zipcar do make it a lot easier not to own a car at all, but I don't think there is such a service in Metro Detroit.

To get back to the thread topic, I can assure you that compared to greater Boston, Detroit is very affordable.
Top of pageBottom of page

Ltorivia485
Member
Username: Ltorivia485

Post Number: 3066
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008 - 10:38 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Zipcar is only available in Ann Arbor. It would be nice if such a service existed in Metro Detroit. I used Zipcar (formerly Flexcar) all the time when I was still living in Chicago. I lived four years without a car while I was in college, and it was possible in a place like Chicago.
Top of pageBottom of page

Dougw
Member
Username: Dougw

Post Number: 2130
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 12:30 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

Detroit,Dearborn, Warren and Livonia is on the top of the list for one of the most affordable cities in the nation. National Association of Home Builders did the study.


That is absolutely true. Oddly enough, though, that's not good news for the National Association of Home Builders... home prices in much of metro Detroit are currently cheap partly because there are too many homes given the demand. It will be tough for builders to build new homes which are remotely competitive in price with recently built homes for the next 3-5 years.
Top of pageBottom of page

Lilpup
Member
Username: Lilpup

Post Number: 4930
Registered: 06-2004
Posted on Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 12:40 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Detroit's median income isn't anywhere near $61,500 either. Local markets do vary from place to place within the country.
Top of pageBottom of page

Lefty2
Member
Username: Lefty2

Post Number: 1798
Registered: 07-2007
Posted on Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 1:13 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

what is the definition of affordable.

Add Your Message Here
Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.