The demand for houses has been on a steady rise since in-person activities have returned, however, the number of houses hasn’t increased, making it a seller’s market in Detroit. Home sellers are ready to welcome buyers to browse and sell to the highest bidder.
“We had a week of open houses, but we got an offer on like the third day,” said Leah Yankee, a resident of North Rosedale Park. “Several people told me it would go fast but it went very quickly.”
Yankee sold her home in July and said buying her current home was just as competitive as selling her previous home.
“I do know that home prices are high right now, and our home was considered a ‘hot home’,” said Yankee. “My understanding seems to be North Rosedale Park is maybe getting a little hip, but there was somebody else that looked at it before us and we were very anxious.”
Byron Suggs, a realtor and mortgage specialist at Paramount Mortgage Group, said the housing shortage is due to a buildup of demand without distributing any supply for about a year.
“It’s a seller’s market like never seen before,” said Suggs. “I think the main thing is it’s taken a long time to catch up from the lack of inventory started last year.”
Suggs said for the past year sellers haven’t been comfortable allowing buyers into their homes and buyers haven’t been comfortable purchasing without seeing the house in person.
“The thing is, with the way the market is, you got a nice home and put it on the market, you’re going to get several offers over the weekend,” said Suggs. “Right now, if you’re doing an open house, it’s only to gain new clients. It’s not even about the house, and the house is going to sell.”
Richard Wright is a Detroit resident who bought his home in May 2020 and had a completely different experience than Yankee.
“When we closed, we didn’t meet with the seller; we were in separate rooms,” said Wright. “It was just real hectic, because at that time they hadn’t figured out how to handle the virus.”
Wright said the market was anybody’s and the uncertainty caused it to fall in the buyer’s favor. He said open houses were not even allowed by the time he closed on his house.
“When we purchased the seller just said OK, we’ll take whatever the appraisal was,” said Wright. “Because of the pandemic, and they didn’t know how things were going, I think they just wanted to sell the house and move on.”