Detroit is growing again. Three straight years of population gains, $4.4 billion of construction downtown, GM’s headquarters newly moved to Hudson’s on Woodward, and Ford’s $950 million Michigan Central campus filling Corktown with tech jobs. The city that everyone wrote off is the one leading Michigan in growth, and buyers are noticing.
Why buy in Detroit
Start with the number nobody believes: the median home in Detroit proper sold for about $89,900 in June 2026. Average rent runs around $1,200 a month. That’s the rare American city where owning can cost less than renting, and it comes with a riverwalk USA Today called the country’s best, Belle Isle’s 982 acres designed by the man behind Central Park, and all four major pro teams playing within walking distance downtown.
Detroit is also, genuinely, many markets wearing one name. Citywide medians say $90,000; Corktown lists near $584,000; Boston Edison, Midtown, and Bagley all sit somewhere different in between. Block-level knowledge matters more here than anywhere else we lend.
The market right now
- Median sale price: about $89,900 (June 2026), flat year over year
- Days on market: 53, faster than last year
- Supply: roughly 4 months. A balanced market, the friendliest buyer conditions Detroit has seen in years
- Room to negotiate: homes sold at 96% of list on average, and nearly half of listings cut their price before selling.
Metro-wide it’s a different story: the tri-county median is $310,000, up 5.4%, moving in 26 days. If you’re shopping Detroit and the suburbs, you’re shopping two different markets with two different playbooks.
The tax math you need to know before you offer
Here’s the part that surprises out-of-town buyers. Detroit’s effective property tax rate, around 3%, is the highest of any major U.S. city. On a median home that’s roughly $294 a month, which can add nearly half again on top of a small mortgage payment. Wayne County overall runs about 1.51%, still well above the national average.
Two things soften it. First, taxes on a $90,000 house are still small in dollars, which is why that combined payment often stays under typical rent. Second, Detroit’s NEZ Homestead program cuts city and county operating millage in half within 52 designated zones, saving roughly 15 to 20% for 15 years, and the abatement transfers to the next owner. Whether an address sits in a zone is exactly the kind of question to ask us before you write the offer, not after.
Up to $25,000 toward your down payment
Detroit’s down payment assistance program reopened in March 2026 with $9 million in funding: grants up to $25,000, fully forgiven after three years in the home. You qualify if you’ve rented in Detroit for the past year, haven’t owned in three, complete homebuyer education, and fall under the income limits. It’s first come, first served, roughly 450 households this round, and the application requires lender pre-qualification before you can even get in line. The buyers who get this money are the ones who show up already prepared. State help stacks on top for those who qualify, including MSHDA’s $10,000 zero-interest loan.
Community at a glance
Anchored by Henry Ford Health’s $12 billion system and the Detroit Medical Center. Wayne State’s 24,000 students in Midtown, with the University of Michigan’s $250 million innovation campus on the way. Cass Tech graduates 98% of its students, and Eastern Market has fed the city since the 1800s. Motown started in a house on West Grand Boulevard that you can still visit.
Areas we serve around Detroit
Dearborn, Warren, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Grosse Pointe, Hamtramck, Livonia, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Madison Heights, Allen Park, Novi, Canton, Troy, Rochester Hills, Birmingham, and the Downriver communities including Wyandotte, Taylor, and Trenton.
Sources: Houzeo Detroit market data, June 2026 · Realcomp Metro Detroit report, July 2026 · The Conversation, Detroit property tax analysis, May 2026 · City of Detroit, NEZ Homestead · Detroit Down Payment Assistance · BridgeDetroit on the 2026 DPA round · Axios Detroit, population growth, May 2026 · Downtown Detroit Partnership investment data · Crain's Detroit, 2026 developments · Zumper Detroit rent data, June 2026