Detroit - Getting Great Attention from National Press

Some good things are happening in Detroit. The New York Times and The Washington Post separately listed Detroit as a “must see” destination for travelers in 2008. The casino, Book Cadillac and Detroit Institute of Art restorations (see our separate blog on the DIA). Of course, The Henry Ford, Greenfield Village, and the Rouge River Plant Tours should rank right up there, tooIn Bloomfield Hills, the Cranbrook Institute offers top flight educational programs as well as exhibits and so much more. Check out their site: http://www.cranbrook.edu/

The price of airfare is more reasonable out of Detroit compared to other large airports. Always a bonus in the winter when we Detroiters go in search of sun!

Detroit has so many suburbs that are like small towns within themselves. We will continue to feature some of these towns on future blogs.

Now for the “not so sunny” news. The housing market is down 6.4% nationwide! But housing (being a non-moveable commodity) is still up in some areas and down far more than the national average in others. Michigan is in the “down more” category, although the figures vary widely from suburb to suburb. One interesting statistic is that 25.5% more homes were sold in the city of Detroit last year. Prices, however, had dropped significantly and foreclosure sales were way up.

Many predicted the “housing bubble burst” years ago. When the average price home is out of reach financially for families making the average salary, the market is out of balance and will correct itself eventually. The good news for Michiganders is that if you take a loss on a home here, you’ll make it up on the home you buy elsewhere.

The sub-prime collapse and slowing real estate sales are pulling the entire country into a slump. Other segments of the economy are holding steady and haven’t shown much change, so Wall Street should rebound. Confidence is the key, and people do not expect to “ever” lose money on a house. So confidence is in short supply, because man’s castle may no longer be his home.

BUT there is some good news…Our Relocation America almost set a record last year with 937 sales. Many of those families were relocating out of Michigan but certainly not all of them!

Our Websites continue to grow! We attracted a million unique visitors last year. Surf the net for properties in other cities. Dealing with other Web sites makes ours look that much greater! On ours, you don’t have to register to look. Our Customer Care department runs a Live Chat and also spends the day on the phone calling back people with questions or interests in some of the properties. Most other cities, you have to register before you can view properties; and you have to sift through a ton of Web sites before you find one that is fairly comprehensive.