Houses cheaper than cars in Detroit

[spinbaby]

By Kevin Krolicki 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
DETROIT (Reuters) - With bidding stalled on some of the least desirable residences in Detroit's collapsing housing market, even the fast-talking auctioneer was feeling the stress.
(snip)
After selling house after house in the Motor City for less than the $29,000 it costs to buy the average new car, the auctioneer tried a new line: "The lumber in the house is worth more than that!"

As Detroit reels from job losses in the U.S. auto industry, the depressed city has emerged as a boomtown in one area: foreclosed property.
(snip)
At a weekend sale of about 300 Detroit-area houses by Texas-based auction firm Hudson & Marshall, the mood was marked more by fear than greed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/usa_subprime_detroit_dc;_ylt=Agq.CIGdeTKWodO4MHrRb20DW7oF

[LisaM]

1. And the nation yawns......

I've never noticed anyone outside of the state of Michigan who cares even a shred about what's happened in this once-great city. To be fair, I didn't see them care when cities like Cleveland, Philly, etc. - working class cities who had become dependent on manufacturing jobs - suffered either. They continue to buy products made by non-union or foreign labor and to participate in the decimation of unions. If we are a nation, we should operate as a nation - not have states vying against each other to strip working-class rights.

[acmavm]

3. I understand how you feel. We've abandoned our big cities and

the industries that supported them in favor of cheap and not-so-cheap imported crap. It's amazing that an article like this that's talking about American families losing their homes doesn't get more notice. How the destruction of the working class in America was so damn easy for these bastards (and I include Billy Clinton in on this) to accomplish.

[kath]

20. yep, thanks SOOOO much for NAFTA, Bill!

[fasttense]

5. They yawned too when the Carolinas lost all those fabric mills and

factories. People could raise a family and have a descent life until all the mills moved overseas. Now everyone works for Wal-Mart and can barely afford to see a doctor. It will take decades to get our lost middle class back.

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

10. middle class isn't coming back

capitalism isn't compatible w/ modern technology; it's that simple..

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

24. Care to elaborate?

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

34. Due to the fact that money..

Due to the fact that money is a debt, and hence cumulative, the amount could continually increase. With its property being negotiable, money leads to concentration of control in a few hands and to general disruption of the distribution system that it was supposed to maintain.

Money is obsolete

more here:
http://www.technocracy.ca/simp/begin.htm

[shortcake]

17. What makes you think it is coming back? n/t

[Demeter]

22. Even Moreso, The Rest of the State of Michigan Looked Down Its Nose

at the once great Motor City, and actively persecuted it in the State legislature. And then there were 12 years of John Engler's tender mercies....

Now that the entire state is feeling the pain of the bustling Bush economy, I have only a sneering laugh for the GOP rednecks. Payback is such a pain.

[salin]

25. that was certainly true in the early nineties

indeed that is part of how Engler crept into the statehouse in the first place. So much running away from dealing with Detroit's issues (early moving of plants off-shore) - so much trying to *not* be associated wth Detriot by then Gov Blanchard (who was neither popular nor unpopular at the time of his reelection) that many in the city of Detroit intentionally stayed home for the election. A large electorate that was expected to turn out - just didn't - and Engler edged his way into the governor's mansion. Not sure whether that dynamic continued for years or still exists) but it was a reality in the early nineties when I lived in the state.

[NEOBuckeye]

30. A few of us do

But tell that to the almighty globalists in power over our government, who see only "resources" (i.e. material, human, etc.) and investors. They don't care where in the world either of those things come from, so long as they can attract investors, accept the lowest possible bids for the resources, and walk away with handsome profits.

All of the Industrial Midwestern cities have suffered dearly because of globalism, which has almost entirely undercut the once-powerful unions that helped workers achieve safe working conditions and middle-class pay and benefits.

But of all the major Midwestern cities, Detroit has to be the biggest loser of all. The city has weathered years of neglect and ineffective, visionless, corrupt leadership, only to see the bleak and seemingly hopeless state that it is in today. Its' reputation is so badly trashed that it's difficult to imagine what could possibly salvage it.

Rebuilding and strengthening the global reach of unions might be one way to help the city hold its' ground against viciously anti-union global-corporatism.

On the other hand, another way to "save" Detroit may very well be to do what "Little Detroit" -- a.k.a. Youngstown, Ohio -- is now doing, by accepting that the once booming industrial city is going to be home to a much smaller population than back during its' heyday. What Youngstown has been doing is knocking down boarded-up, abandoned houses to allow for larger yards around the remaining, inhabited homes. To some extent, Detroit has already been doing this, allowing entire stretches that were once neighborhoods to revert back to grassy and even wooded "green zones". Detroit city leadership should enact a citywide "re-greening" policy. It might not do a whole lot for the city's economy off the bat, but it might have the effect of reducing crime and perhaps even lead to a new beginning of sorts.

[AndyTiedye]

31. What Do You Want us to Do? Move There?

And where are all of these "Union-Made in the USA" products we are supposed to be buying, anyway?

Most of them say "Designed in the USA" or "Patented in the USA" now, because they have outsourced the manufacturing and are trying to hide that fact from the consumer.

The only union-made-in-America thing I have bought in the past few years is a Ford Escape Hybrid. It's a very nice truck. Very decent mileage for an SUV. Don't know if that helps Detroit though, Escapes are made in Kansas City.


Nobody is buying American CARS (as opposed to trucks) because they suck. They especially like to suck gasoline in large quantities (when they run). When I needed a CAR I bought a Prius. Vehicles like that are conspicuous by their absence from Detroit's assembly lines.

Most of the American-made stuff I have bought recently has been custom or very limited-run,
built by individual craftmen or very small numbers of employees. Like this:

[TahitiNut]

32. It's like a knife in my gut every time I go into the city.

I got my BS at Wayne State and lived in the 'neighborhood' around there. My first job was teaching at Salesian High School, just north of the Davison off Woodward. My second job was at Chevy in the New Center area. My third job was at National Bank of Detroit downtown. I lived in the "inner city" during the 67 riots. It was home.

No matter where I go, now, I see neighborhoods where I lived and my girlfriends lived ... and they look bombed out. Like Beirut. Abandoned by the state. Roads and streets that haven't seen a federal dollar for repairs in decades, it seems. When I was a kid, I rode the streetcar from Pleasant Ridge to Hudson's and Sanders and the Vernor's plant. When I turned 13, I rode my bike down Woodward to the Detroit Public Library and the Museum. I almost cry when I drive down Woodward, now. There's still the Eastern Market ... but many of the neighborhood restaurants around there are gone. The casino has ruined Greektown. The stadiums bring people when the games are one ... but when they leave it's like the city is evacuated and people bar their doors.

I remember Bob-Lo and the Belle Isle zoo. I feel like its an unending funeral when I'm in the city. It's tragic.

[KamaAina]

39. It continues to yawn while New Orleans soldiers on at about half its pre-K population

as a matter of fact, quite a few comparisons were made to Detroit during the storm's aftermath. Hmmmm...

But hey, we still don;'t know who the father of Anna Nicole's baby is yet! Priorities, y'know. :sarcasm:

[lutefisk]

2. And I thought my area sucked for real estate values.

"a three-bedroom house in the suburb of Bloomfield Hills that had listed for $525,000 sell for just $130,000 at the auction"

I just hope that there are buyers who plan to actually live in the properties and not only "investors" out to make a killing. At least that would offer some hope...

[llmart]

4. A house in Bloomfield Hills sold for $130K???

That's where all the rich folk live. It must be a real dump!

And if it's not, then this is really scary for the rest of us who live here and are thinking of selling our houses in the near future.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. Jeebus!

Both Seger and Punch live in BH. That's some pricey real estate!

Wow.

[salin]

26. Back in the early 90s, next to the Grosse Pointe area

(at the time one of the, if not the, most exlusive/expensive housing market in the country (big 3 execs lived there) it was the next 'best' place to live per expensive market.

Years later I lived in the Bay Area - and little teeny bungalows in Marin were going for a cool million (when the market was still hot). Can't even imagine any of those teeny homes now dropping in value to half-a mil. let alone to under $200,000. Unless we see that this listing really is a garage shack being sold off from a larger estate, standing on barely a patch of land that exceeds the garage - than this is a really ominous harbinger.

[Delphinus]

12. Scary to me.

I don't live in anywhere near as big a city (300K county) but the real estate in Indiana is simply horrible - and I'm in just a working class neighborhood. I read an article over the weekend that made my head spin. I don't know what we're supposed to do.

[salin]

27. Funky in Indy - but really odd/scary in B-ton.

I spend time in both communities. But the difference in the market is really noticeable in Bloomington. Very, very high end homes are still selling (500,000+ - no idea how there are so many folks in that relatively little college city can afford these homes.) Low end neighborhood homes (impoverished west side) still selling at what seems inflated prices (small homes for around $100,000) - but homes in mid market neighborhoods - family size (not small) but not overly luxurious... sit on the market for *years*. People take them on the market, they don't sell, owners move but still have to sell - take the house off the market (for the market to improve) and six months to a year later put them back on the market (with lower prices) and they still don't move. Why? I think that at this level of the market buyers are looking for a 'bargain' - but that bargain is so far under what the homes were worth even two years ago that the owners are reluctant to take the loss.

Not only do I not ever remember so many homes on the market (this is my hometown and I have been in and out of the city for years) - I can't recall a time when folks who could afford to hold onto a house that isn't selling in order to keep trying to sell it for years. But at the same time folks keep buying really high end overpriced homes, and at the low end of the market prices remain overpriced. Really odd. I would guess that as the glut gets bigger that the problems in the mid market will spread to both the high end and the low end of the market. Yet the 'McMansion' developments keep being started, built and bought up.

[AngryAmish]

6. It must be tough to be a Detroiter

However if you have a good job ...

[LisaM]

7. People can help! They can support union labor

They can refuse to shop at Wal-Mart, they can look for the "made in America" tag, they can stay away from companies that outsource, and so on. I try to do all these things.

[Psephos]

15. The biggest way to support union labor is to buy a car made in the USA n/t

[LisaM]

16. I agree - our family always has

We have a driveway full of Chevrolets!

I try to look for the union label for everything - I live in Seattle now, and recently engaged in some dialogue with a local newscaster regarding the school district dropping their union bus drivers, outsourcing it to a low bidder, and now have a problem with drivers who don't have valid licenses. The reporter told me she was aware of the union issue but liked to "report on one issue at a time". Does she think our brains can't hold both pieces of information?

[shortcake]

18. Wanna hear something funny?

I was at a United Mine Workers Rally in 2004. Jesse Jackson was doing his Reinvest in America Appalachian Tour. A bunch of us got T shirts. You know, union support, mine workers, all that good stuff. The t shirts were made in Honduras. I just looked at it again to make sure where it was made. There it is, front and back, Reinvest In America.

[Ian David]

9. I'm gonna buy me a foreclosed home and open a military recruitment center!

:sarcasm:

[Broadslidin]

11. Tis Best, to Look Straight Forward, when Speeding throu U.S. metro areas.

with the possible :hide: exception of

Fortress Washington, DC.

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. $29,000?

Out here on Long Island that's like, 18 months rent on an apartment.

[spinbaby]

14. Yeah, but there are jobs in Long Island

Middle America is developing vast swaths of poverty where no one can afford anything. That tends to drive the price of housing down.

[RadicalSocialist]

35. Middle America is dying a slow death.

A lot of people who are looking for a decent job have to flee to the coasts or the Southwest.

[Strawman]

19. I honestly don't know why anybody would buy a home in the city

It's a buyer's market now for homes in the suburbs and there are alot of other costs to staying in the city: ridiculously high property taxes, a city income tax and insurance rates and poor services. On top of that there is crime and terrible schools. Oh and if you want to buy any groceries, plan on driving to the suburbs anyway.

My wife said her coworker's property taxes for her house in the city were $6,000 a year. $500 a month on top of her mortgage payment that doesn't pay a dime of your principal. In the suburbs, she'd pay less than half that for good schools and better services.

[olddad56]

29. What city do you live in?

[donco]

21. I live in distant suburb of St.Louis,

seems in the last few years the house prices in downtown St.Louis have soared in fact there is a building boom for lofts. In the burbs, the market is a little soft, but the prices don’t seem to be effected to much, just on the market a little longer, as opposed to a bidding war like a few years ago. Of course we have very affordable housing ,didn’t go up like the other areas, so wont go down as fast either.

[AwakeAtLast]

23. This is what is happening in Indianapolis, too

I live in a soon-to-be suburb, and housing here is still fairly reasonable. We just built a 3000 sq. ft. home for less than $200,000. That is about the median housing price here.

[NuttyFluffers]

28. i wonder if i could make that profitable by growing food and solar energy...

$30k for home and land... use the home as a nursery for exotic produce, and add solar panels for energy generation. sell the energy back online, since next to none of it would i use for maintenance (you can make very low maintenance hothouses for shade loving plants), and sell the rare produce like saffron, cherimoyas, whatever.

nah, there'd be zoning issues, political sniping (because it seems like gov't just wants detroit to die for some reason), vandalism (from who? dunno. could be desperate people, could be political agents), etc. it'd probably be more profitable to sell off the lumber and create a mega-plantation. sad, very sad. i can't think of what could save those communities, let alone make them a worthwhile return on investment in this market.

[Octafish]

33. It's the ''Haiti-ization'' of America.

In a short while, 1-percent will own 99-percent.
The 99-percent will fight over the 1-percent that's their share.
In the process, they'll get nothing,
but they will fight and they will war.

After the riots are quelled,
And the cities' cinders cool,
A new man will arise from the jungles of Paraguay,
To enjoy the few remaining fruits of the earth
And lord over the survivors.



It's the War Party's work.

[olddad56]

36. but houses get better gas mileage.

[Bozita]

37. This thread gives me chills

Detroit's not the first, but it could be the worst of what's to come.

[Carni]

38. It's Katrina all over again sans the hurricane

Detroit has been a thorn in the GOP's side for a LONG time.

This was just another way for bush and his cohorts (via the auto companys) to drown a city full of *black folks* and turn a blue area red IMO

[KamaAina]

40. You know, there are over 102,000 of us now...

well, minus some lurkers and TS'd trolls, but still...

maybe we could all snap up one of these and turn a neighborhood into "DUtroit", complete with food co-op, transportation and the like, so as not to be as dependent on the suburbs across "8 Mile".

Extra added bonus: If the fit really hits the shan, Windsor, Ont. is directly to the south (really!).