Rising home prices in Detroit could foretell improving climate

Home sales in the Metro Detroit area are sliding, but rising home prices and falling inventory are being driven by relocating families moving to the area.

There were 4,221 homes sold last month in Metro Detroit - an area which encompasses Oakland, Livingston, Macomb and Wayne counties - according to a report by the Detroit News, which cited data from Realcomp II. That figure was down 11.8 percent from August 2009, when 4,785 homes were sold.

On the other hand, the report added that recent moving activity has slimmed the region's once-bloated home inventory, which dropped 18.7 percent on a year-over-year basis last month. There are 29,034 homes on the market in Metro Detroit, compared to 35,742 a year ago.

Falling inventories caused the median home price to climb 16.7 percent to $70,000, said the report. On top of that, the number of non-foreclosure sales continued to outpace foreclosure sales, a trend that began in May.

Recent corporate relocations may be driving more workers to Detroit, and could drive a housing rebound in the state. Quicken Loans was one of a number of companies that moved to Downtown Detroit this summer.
 

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