The bad news for Detroiters is that the city’s bankruptcy will likely only deepen the decay of its downtown housing market.
That might deter most prospective home buyers. But some look at Detroit’s hard times and see profit.
Specifically, bargain-hunting Chinese investors. Since the bankruptcy was announced on July 18, talk of snapping up Detroit housing for a pittance has picked up on Sina Weibo (link in Chinese), reports Sina Finance. And it appears to be translating into real interest; Caroline Chen, a real estate broker in Troy, Michigan, says she’s received “tons of calls” from people in mainland China.
“I have people calling and saying, ‘I’m serious—I wanna buy 100, 200 properties,’” she tells Quartz, noting that one of her colleagues recently sold 30 properties to a Chinese buyer. “They say ‘We don’t need to see them. Just pick the good ones.’”
It isn’t impossible for Detroit to come back. Though I doubt there is either the political fortitude nor the private risk capital to make it happen any time soon. Gentrification takes a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of risk. I don’t suspect these particular investors are going to take it that direction. I hope I’m wrong.
