Detroit Evening Report: U-M study reveals major rise in home values for Detroit’s Black homeowners

A new study by the University of Michigan shows Detroit’s Black homeowners gained $2.8 billion in home value between 2014 and 2022. 

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The study, conducted by the university’s Poverty Solutions program, looked at home sales data in the nine years following the city’s municipal bankruptcy. Researchers found the value of all owner-occupied homes jumped 94% during the period, from a total of $4.2 billion in 2014 to $8.1 billion dollars in 2022.

Black homeowners realized the vast majority of that gain in wealth, the study estimates, with their home values rising from $3.4 billion in 2014 to $6.2 billion in 2022.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Mike Duggan touted the work of community organizations which he says helped bolster increases in home values for city residents.

“For the past nine years, the active members of 600 organized block clubs and neighborhood associations in the city have been working to rebuild their neighborhoods,” Duggan said in a statement. “The $3 billion in new home wealth they have created and earned is a direct result of their dedication and hard work.”

The study also says the growth in housing value was distributed throughout the city, and not just in the Midtown or Downtown neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that were at their lowest point in 2014 have risen the most in value. 

“Home values grew the most from 2014 to 2022 in neighborhoods with the lowest property values and highest poverty rates in 2014,” the study said. “Neighborhoods with high concentrations of Hispanic/Latino populations, especially those in Southwest Detroit, experienced some of the largest increases in home values over the nine-year time period.”

The study also cited the dramatic reduction in tax foreclosures in Detroit as a key factor in determining the net wealth gain.

To read the full study, visit poverty.umich.edu.

Other headlines for Wednesday, April 17, 2024:

• Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will deliver his annual State of the City address at 7 p.m. tonight. You can hear it live on 101.9 FM WDET.
• Detroit Public Television is building a new broadcast facility at Piquette and John R in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. The television station is also changing its name and will now be known as Detroit PBS. 
• The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) is hosting its 52nd Annual Dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, in celebration of the organization’s more than 120 community programs.  
• If you’re headed downtown anytime in the next several days, be prepared for heavy traffic and detours.  The NFL Draft takes place late next week, but preparations for the events have closed several streets.
• LED lights have been placed along the route of the People Mover in downtown Detroit to help improve visibility for pedestrians, WDIV reports.
• And the Detroit Red Wings will miss the NHL playoffs again, despite the team’s 5-4 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.