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As featured in Model D February 1, 2010
From Paris to the Paris of the Midwest: French investors see potential
Terry Parris Jr.
Monday, February 01, 2010
The French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac,
with a small group of settlers and soldiers, looked out onto the
Detroit River more than 300 years ago and saw opportunity. From the
position of the river to the fertile land, they imagined that a
settlement could grow from this location.
"The land is very
beautiful and appropriate to build a city later on," wrote Cadillac in
a letter to the French minister responsible for the Detroit colonies.
"The various things one finds in this Land make it very pleasant."
Three
centuries later, Detroit has another Frenchman looking out at that same
river, with that same vision. From the 17th floor of Spinnaker Tower,
just off East Jefferson,
Laurent Diemunsch is standing in the living room of his newly purchased
two-bedroom high-rise apartment. The Detroit River and Belle Isle are
beaming through a foggy sliding glass door to the balcony.
"I see that the future can be better here," he says, slowly, looking for the words.
The
apartment isn't for him to live in, though. He bought it to rent out;
he bought it as an investment. Diemunsch isn't an investor in the sense
that you might think. He's not buying 100 foreclosures and selling them
on Craigslist. He's a flight attendant, who happens to own an apartment
in the Spinnaker and another in New Center, on Pallister. And he already has a tenant.
Diemunsch
may be less tuned in with honest to goodness investors and more in step
with his compatriot Mr. Cadillac. The two Frenchman both saw not only
opportunity but also potential and a future in the wilderness off the
banks of a river.
"I can see what this city can become," Diemunsch says, unknowingly paraphrasing from Cadillac's letters.
Yet
the headlines about Detroit overseas (or anywhere for that matter)
aren't exactly golden. In fact, according to Diemunsch, they are
terrible. So, how did this French flight attendant with spiky,
jet-black hair end up roaming the streets of Detroit? Well, the
Internet, naturally, and a local French speaking real estate agent, Sabra Sanzotta, whose husband also hails from France.
"I
saw Detroit on the Internet, I saw some really bad things," Diemunsch
says. We can all imagine what those "things" were. "Then I made some
research and it wasn't like that. I came to Detroit (to meet with
Sanzotta). I saw downtown Detroit, some of the neighborhoods. I thought
it was beautiful. It was impressive to me."
So impressive that
Diemunsch brought some back up on his most recent visit. In tow was his
father, Jean Claude, a fellow flight attendant, Nathalie Krief, and
Krief's brother, Nimrod. And the French entourage kept busy. Jean
Claude closed on one property at St. Anne's Gate
and has another offer pending in New Center. And Nimrod has an accepted
offer at Spinnaker, which should close sometime this month. Sanzotta,
who will act as the property manager for these spaces, says they should
have tenants six weeks after closing.
Let's not kid ourselves.
Though Diemunsch and his posse aren't big time rollers, flipping houses
like a short order cook flips flapjacks, they're still trying to make a
buck. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, Sanzotta says.
Now
there are fewer foreclosed, empty condos in Detroit, more renovated
upscale rental properties available for those who want to live
downtown, and more homeowner dues coming in to the developments, she
says, "which in turn keeps the maintenance up and the resale value
spiraling upwards. Plus, as they keep drying up the inventory, (there
will be) more demand for fewer properties." That would help prices
recover.
However, right now, Detroit property is cheap. Not just
cheap, it's really, really cheap, and abundant. The Euro is stronger
than the dollar and that bodes well for foreign investors, including
French flight attendants, and the fathers and brothers of said flight
attendants. They can pick up property along the riverfront or right
downtown for the price of a small car. Something that, in other cities
– like Paris or London or New York – is impossible.
Flags might
already be going off and some of you are probably saying to yourself,
"But Detroit isn't Paris or London or New York. They are completely
different markets."
"Foreigners have a different mindset (when it comes to real estate)," says real estate broker Joy Santiago.
"People in the tri-county area see these property values every day and
compare them to their own. But if you compare them to New York City's
riverfront or Chicago's riverfront, there's a definite difference." And
a definite draw, she says.
Santiago says the perception of
Detroit's real estate is totally different from across the pond. In
urban centers in foreign cities, properties are either outrageously
expensive or, as they are passed from family to family, nonexistent.
Even
though property can be had for a song in other parts of the United
States, real estate investment is still coming to Detroit.
"Investors see the potential of growth (in Detroit), not decline," she says.
"I
think it's a symbol of hope," Sanzotta says. "Coming half way around
the world, investing on the potential of Detroit, when some won't even
come down here for dinner, it's inspiring."
One thing you get
from the flight attendants is that they talk about and see Detroit as a
commodity, a place to go, to be. As flight attendants, they see
hundreds of cities a year, so it would seem that they would know a cool
place when they see it.
"This is my first time in Detroit," says
Nathalie, Diemunsch's fellow flight attendant. "But what I see here is
people willing to take risks on Detroit's potential. I feel new life
here in Detroit. Nice people, new neighborhoods, and good rentability.
There's a bourgeois bohemian lifestyle here."
Bourgeois bohemian?
"Yeah," she says. "It's a good thing."
Terry Parris Jr. writes for Model D. Send feedback here.
All Photographs © Marvin Shaouni Photography
As featured on time.com
Luring Foreclosure Buyers on Detroit's 'Lonely Homes' Tour
Joy Santiago is a real estate agent who has organized a "Lonely Homes Tour" of foreclosed properties in Indian Village, one of Detroit's last stately, middle-class neighborhoods.
Steven Gray for TIME
On a recent Sunday afternoon, Joy Santiago, a real estate agent, stood atop the front steps of a vacant, eight-bedroom colonial-style mansion, bullhorn in hand. "Alright, 10 minutes," she declared, ushering in the 50 or so people on the Lonely Homes Tour, an aggressive effort to sell foreclosed properties in one of Detroit's last solidly middle-class neighborhoods. (See pictures of the Lonely Homes Tour.)
Those grimmest aspects of Detroit city life are just a few blocks from Indian Village, where the Lonely Homes Tour took place on a recent Sunday. For decades, the neighborhood managed to defy that fate. It was carved in the late-1800s, barely three miles from Detroit's downtown, as an enclave for the city's emerging industrial barons. Even as Detroit's wealth moved further into the city's suburbs in the wake of World War II, Indian Village's Tudor- and Georgian-style homes — many with large back yards and carriage houses — attracted politically connected, white-collar professionals.
But not even the neighborhood's lawyers, judges, principals and auto-industry executives have been immune to the economic crisis battering Michigan, the state saddled with America's highest unemployment rate. Some have lost their homes. Some who've left have been unwilling to lower their home's prices. At the same time, banks have become more discerning in issuing mortgages to prospective buyers. By one estimate, about 15% of the 350 homes that comprise Indian Village are foreclosed. (See pictures of the remains of Detroit.)
Residents have taken various steps to prevent vacant properties from becoming magnets for criminals: Regularly mowing lawns, installing curtains, or even baby monitors. Detroit's crime, failing schools and the shortage of supermarkets selling fresh, reasonably priced fruits, vegetables and meats have been barriers to attracting the kind of professionals that have transformed other once struggling cities. One longtime resident, Steve Wasko, recalls real estate agents dismissing Indian Village, saying, "We don't have time to come 'down there,' like 'down there' is crossing some line you never travel without a passport." Some agents, Wasko says, simply gave the keys and alarm codes of homes to prospective buyers without bothering to vet their backgrounds. "That's like giving the goods to potential thieves," he says.
Last year, a group of Indian Village residents launched a search for a real estate agent who would commit to the neighborhood. They soon found Santiago. She'd left Ann Arbor, Mich., for Detroit in the late-1980s to work as a booking agent for techno music DJs. By the late-1990s, she'd become a real estate agent, and frequently worked in Indian Village. The timing was good back then: In her first year, Santiago says she sold one house a week. "Everyone had a job, everyone wanted to have the American dream — homeownership," the 41-year-old says. (See The Detroit Blog's coverage of the city.)
One of Santiago's first marketing ideas was what she christened the Lonely Homes Tour. The first tour, in September 2008, drew car loads of prospective buyers. More importantly, it generated considerable buzz about Indian Village's mansions. The next installment came last month. Residents lined the leafy streets leading up to Indian Village with ads promoting the tour. Of course, they also touted the event on Facebook.
And lo and behold, there wasn't a single empty seat on the two tours' busses. A caravan followed Santiago to each of the seven stops. At one point, the caravan rolled up to a sturdy, four-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot colonial built in 1925, that's priced at $39,000. Then came the tour's most expensive home: an eight-bedroom, 8,500-square-foot 1917 colonial. The price: $189,000. One woman covered her nose to keep the smell of mildew away. Her husband carefully took notes about the cracked wooden floors. People looked in awe inside the elevator of one house. Santiago stood by, answering questions about the house's history and its original owners, handing out business cards to the young and middle-aged professionals from the suburbs or downtown condos looking to trade up to bigger home at a bargain. (See pictures of a day in the life of Detroit's Mayor Bing.)
So far, Indian Village residents seem satisfied. Wasko says: "If I were a real estate agent, I'd act like Joy: I'd work my butt off on Sunday afternoon, and not roll my eyes and say, 'maybe this won't get the sale.'"
That effort just might be paying off. One day after the tours, Santiago says she had gotten several calls for second showings. About six people from the Lonely Homes Tours have made offers. "People heard about Indian Village, but without an event like this," Santiago says, "they wouldn't have made it."
as Featured in Tell Us Detroit.com
UNIQUE DETROIT HOMES AND EXTRAORDINARY VALUES -- FREE TOURS SEPT. 27-LIVING IN THE "V" & Lonely Homes Tour!
ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAVVY BUYERS
DETROIT, MI., September 15, 2009 – While widely reported that the Detroit Metro Area has a glut of homes for sale -- from private ownership to bank-held properties -- there is lately an increase in interest and sales of historic homes and contemporary luxury residences. This includes a cluster of downtown neighborhoods just east of the Belle Isle Bridge.
On Sunday, September 27, The Villages Community Development Corporation (VILLAGES CDC) will offer two free tour events to showcase a number of select residences for potential buyers. VILLAGES CDC member neighborhoods include Indian Village, West Village, Islandview Village, East Village, Berry Subdivision, and the Gold Coast (riverfront) communities.
“When you drive through the Villages neighborhoods, it is amazing to see so many magnificent homes that have been lovingly restored or just well-maintained over the years. The homes in the Villages communities were built by the country’s greatest industrialists of the 20th century and include an amazing variety of architecture by Albert Kahn, William Stratton and Louis Kemper (original architect of the recently restored Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.), and others. Though some of the homes open for tours on September 27 are in need of repair and/or rehab, discerning buyers will immediately recognize the value of purchasing a bank-owned property or a spectacular value-priced privately-owned residence in these communities,” said VILLAGES CDC President Kim Clayson.
Purchase Incentives in The Villages
Clayson added that any qualified first-time buyer ready to purchase a home by November 30, can take advantage of the up to $8,000 Federal Housing Tax Credit. In addition, a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) tax break allows new homeowners to enjoy up to a 30 percent discount on property taxes in many of the neighborhoods. Historic tax credits are also available in the Villages’ Historic Districts allowing homeowners the opportunity to receive tax credits on their Michigan tax return for historically appropriate improvements and renovations.
"There is a huge nationwide interest in Detroit. Investors and homeowners from all over the country are purchasing multiple properties. The bargains in the city, and especially in the Villages area, are flying off the shelves,” said Joy Santiago, owner, Dwellings Unlimited, LLC. “It is absolutely the best time to buy. Prices for some of these one of a kind, large, historic homes are now within reach, especially for a first time homebuyer.”
Two Different Tour Events -- September 27 – 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Both free tours will showcase a variety of housing styles that include turn-of-the-century cottages, row houses, stately mansions, and hi-rise condominium buildings with Arts and Crafts, Carpenter Gothic, Federal Revival and Tudor Revival architectural as well as mid-century modern designs.
Tour #1: The Lonely Homes Tours of bank-owned properties will depart from the Detroit Waldorf School (Burns at Charlevoix in Indian Village) promptly at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Because space is limited, confirmed advance registration is required with an email indicating a choice of time to thevillagesofdetroit@gmail.com. These bus tours will be led by a licensed Realtor, with a contractor and local residents on hand to share their experiences in rehabbing bank-owned properties. Participants will be provided with detailed information about the tour homes and/or condominiums.
Tour #2: The Living in the V! Real Estate Open House & Self-Guided Tour run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and begin at the former Harlequin Café space in the Parkstone Apartment Building, 1415 Parker (at Agnes) in West Village. These tours are designed to showcase houses, condominiums and co-op apartments – all privately-owned properties for sale at very attractive prices. Participants will receive maps and information about tour homes and tax incentives. A PowerPoint presentation on The Villages neighborhood will be shown, and area vendors and neighborhood organizations will be available with additional information.
The Villages of Detroit -- A True Success Story
These unique neighborhoods have architectural significance at affordable prices, residential stability and density, a diverse and committed resident base, a riverfront park system, proximity to downtown, an abundance of strong schools and churches, tax and investment incentives, annual events, active community associations, a hip urban feel -- and most importantly -- a sense of shared community for all.
The Villages CDC is also a partner in the East Jefferson Corridor Collaborative (EJCC) which was created with financial and administrative support from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. The goal of the EJCC is to connect the efforts of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the Jefferson East Business Association and the The Villages CDC to redevelop sections of the East Jefferson corridor from I-375 to Alter Road.
“Two years ago my husband and I were searching for a historic home in Detroit. I had always admired the Villages area, and now I’m happy to call Indian Village and the greater Villages community my home. Immediate proximity to downtown Detroit and its freeways, beautiful greenways and parks and the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair are features of the Villages that make this a distinct community. Our two-peak Colonial Revival home required a great deal of work. We have completely revamped the home’s infrastructure and we’re planning more restoration work. The extremely competitive purchase price for such a substantial home allowed us to do major repairs and upgrades that the home needed. The Villages is a great place for young families who want to be able to enjoy the amenities of Detroit and also live in an area where neighbors are active and engaged in Detroit and the Villages community.”
As a testament to the uniqueness of the Villages’ districts, several residences have been featured on HGTV’s Restore America, and many are listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings.
About the Villages CDC
The Villages are a unique collection of historic neighborhoods. The Villages Community Development Corporation (CDC) is a 501(c)(3) organization that represents Berry Subdivision, The Gold Coast (i.e.Shoreline East, Indian Village Manor, Detroit Towers), East Village, Indian Village, West Village and Islandview Village. Its mission is to attract residents and retail to the community and enhance the quality of life for its residents. For more information, visit www.TheVillagesOfDetroit.com.
As Featured on MCAR 8/12/2009
Foreclosure prevention laws now in effect
Homeowners on the brink of losing their home now have a 90-day period to work out a payment plan with their lending institution. Public Acts 29, 30 and 31 of 2009 – which went into effect last week – provide consumers at risk of foreclosure a 90-day period to work with their lenders on a loan modification plan.
Further provisions of the law require the lending institution to provide the borrower with written notice of the reason for default, information on the mortgage holder (including name, address and phone number) and an assigned contact with the mortgage holder.
These new laws are designed to get both the borrower and the mortgage holder to the table to work out a plan in order to forego the foreclosure process. If an agreement is reached with the mortgage holder, the loan will not be foreclosed upon if the borrower is able to abide by the terms of the agreement. Additionally, the new law gives homeowners the right to take their case to court if a lender does not cooperate on a loan modification plan.
While MAR fully supports keeping homeowners in their homes, the judicial aspect of this law may clog up the legal system, thus “dragging” the process out and increasing costs all around. However, given the increasing number of foreclosures in this state, these new Public Acts are a big step in getting struggling homeowners the help they need in order to keep their homes.
as Featured in Model D, June 23, 2009
Selling Homes in Detroit: It's About More Than Just the Benjamins
By: Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey
June 23, 2009
If all you knew was what you saw in the national media, you'd think being a real estate agent in the city of Detroit would qualify you for a guest spot on the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" show. Talk of $100 houses makes Detroit seem like the blue-light special of real estate. Everyone from CNN on down is telling the story of out-of-state speculators snatching up Detroit property like the sample vultures at Costco mindlessly gorging on the freebies. It sounds sad and ugly.
There's some truth in those cheap property stories, but that's only one part of the real estate picture here.
 Enter Sabra Sanzotta's beautifully decorated live/work space in Eastern Market's FD Lofts, where swaths of luxurious fabric drape brick walls, silver cut out butterflies glimmer from the impossibly high ceilings and the kitchen gleams with fancy appliances. As Sanzotta sits, chatting and monitoring her buzzing cell phone, she doesn't seem on the precipice of defeat, gnashing her teeth and shaking her fist at the heavens. She offers no "why me?" diatribe and doesn't rail against the state of real estate. She just seems busy. Really busy.
"This has been our best year," says the proprietor of The Loft Warehouse. You may have a hard time believing this, but she means that this year -- yes 2009 -- has been her best yet. Huh?
Sanzotta isn't the only one telling that story. Realtors who specialize in the greater Downtown area and some of the city's more affluent neighborhoods say they aren't immune to the realities of a national mortgage crisis, sky-high home foreclosures and other unsavory economic realities. They aren't quitting the city either, not when there's good money to be made.
Many of the city's agents are selling more than just cheap houses to scavengers. They are selling things like luxury lofts to happy new residents. They sell fixer uppers to families, condos to empty nesters. Good homes to people who will live in them. And Detroit agents are making money doing this, even if to do so they have to work their tails off and harder than ever.
What are they buying?
Oh, that mythic $100 house. It's out there, but most of us couldn't or wouldn't live there.
While innovative projects like the internationally famous Mitch Cope/Gina Reichert Power House are extremely cool, not everyone has the guts or the vision to be gutsy and visionary. Some people want to buy a home, move in and live in it without first giving it an extreme makeover. You can do that in Detroit, real estate agents say, but you'll have to pay a little more than a Benjamin.
Joy Santiago, a real estate agent and resident of The Villages, says people who have been waiting are now moving forward to get into properties and neighborhoods that in another time would have been out of reach. "We've got the biggest opportunity ever to be able to purchase Riverfront, Downtown, or Midtown property," she says.
Condos on the riverfront that were once six figures are going for less than $100,000. Houses in sought-after neighborhoods like The Villages -- historic homes that anywhere else in the nation would be worth millions -- are more affordable than ever.
In Midtown on highly desirable historic Ferry Street, Sanzotta is selling new construction luxury condos at Centurion Place starting at $150,000 – about half of what they were selling for a couple years ago.
One of Sanzotta's young professional customers, Damoni Hurt, a marketing manager for Ford who is in his 30s, was one of those waiting for the right time. He just bought a condo with a downtown view on E. Jefferson across from Belle Isle.
"Now is the opportunity to transition from renting and sitting out to really jumping in," he says.
Hurt bought a bank-owned condo for $80,000 in The Lofts at Rivertown, a building that a couple years ago had units going for at two to five times as much. He knew the location was perfect: He was living there already. "It was a no-brainer from a quality of life standpoint," Hurt says. "I was living in the same building renting, paying twice as much for rent."
 And he was not just buying junk. His is a tri-level loft with high-end fixtures. "This is the whole kit and caboodle," he says. "It's a foreclosure, but it wasn't a falling apart, dilapidated kind of East Side house deal."
The same space in downtown D.C. or Atlanta -- where he's lived before -- would have been out of his reach: "It'd be $1 million plus in D.C. In Atlanta, half a million easily," he says.
In addition to foreclosures, real estate agents say another big part of their business right now is short sales. In these cases, they negotiate with the banks to let homeowners sell the homes for less than they owe, and then the banks forgive the difference.
A short sale, however, is a lot more difficult and takes longer than a traditional sale, but agents say that when these short sales work out, it's a win-win for all the parties involved. In a short sale, the home won't sit empty, the seller gets out of the mortgage, the buyer gets a good deal and the agent gets a better commission than he or she would have gotten if the home was sold in a foreclosure.
More than foreclosures
Foreclosures and short sales aren't the only deals being made in the city. It's squishy, but there is still a market out there.
Last month, Sanzotta sold a $165,000 condo in Harbortown to a firefighter who plans to retire on the riverfront. She's also closing on a $141,000 townhome in Corktown in a few days. Both are not foreclosures.
Ryan Cooley of O'Connor Real Estate and Development in Corktown, says he's had a lot of demand for architecturally significant properties like the Mies van der Rohe townhomes in Lafayette Park. This month, in fact, he showed them to a couple from Baltimore, relocating here to work at Wayne State University. And it looks like they're buying.
 Santiago just wrapped filming an episode of the ultra-addictive real estate drama "House Hunters" for HGTV. She showed the buyers three $400,000 properties -- all within Detroit's city limits. If you watch the show, which we already established that you do, you know they always buy something at the end.
And real estate agent Austin Black II, who works a lot in his Midtown neighborhood, says a customer walked in recently and paid a cool half million cash for a penthouse loft in the new Willys Overland Lofts development in Midtown.
Those stories -- market rate sales and big properties with high price tags -- might be more rare thanks to foreclosures and short sales, but they are out there.
Who is buying?
Black says 2009 is turning out to be a good year for him, as well, but he's had to hustle. "Part of it is, I am working with a lot more people, and you have to work a lot harder with those buyers," he says. Buyers have a lot more from which to choose, and they want to see the options, he says. "But it's paying off."
There might be out-of-state speculators looking to buy up Detroit by the block, but Black, Sanzotta and others who regularly sell in the city say those customers aren't as frequent as one might think. And the media reports mislead people to believe that for pennies, they're going to get a great house.
 "I've gotten calls from people who are not from this area and who are from other parts of the country, and their impression is that they are getting a livable home for $100 in a livable neighborhood," Black says. "I think you'll find the market is typically more stable in Midtown."
OK, so who are the regular buyers? Sanzotta says many of her customers are professionals coming to work at the Medical Center. Black sells a lot to empty nesters, too. Cooley has a lot of customers relocating from out of state. Black does, too, and says that "95 percent of them grew up in the 'burbs, and a good percentage of that group has lived in cities across the country." They want an urban lifestyle, and they want it here.
In Detroit, he says, new development has slowed but there's still a trickle, like the newly rehabbed condos on Mack in Brush Park that Black sells. Black says selling new condo developments is tricky right now because lenders want 15 percent down on condos not already half sold, and most buyers don't have that to pony up. Sanzotta is facing the same challenge at Centurion, but she's seeing new interest in the property.
But even with the slowdown, Black says don't let those big media guys fool you: In Detroit, there's still plenty of life.
"One of the unique things about the downtown and Midtown areas, we've lost some businesses and some of the developments that were proposed never got off the ground, but you still see businesses opening, places under construction, new restaurants," Black says. "I still see more people walking outside, more people walking and running. Things are still happening and people want to be down here."
Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey is managing editor of Model D. Send feedback here.
Photos:
Centurion Place interior
Sabra Sanzotta, realtor
Centurion Place interior
Damoni Hurt
Damoni Hurt in his tri-level loft
Austin Black, realtor
Photographs by Detroit Photographer Marvin Shaouni Marvin Shaouni is the Managing Photographer for Metromode & Model D Contact Marvin here
Press Release
For Immediate Release
“National HGTV Show "House Hunters" to Feature Detroit Realtor & Homebuyers”
Metro Detroit, MI May 15, 2009. Pie Town Productions, a TV production company for Home and Garden Television (HGTV) is coming to Detroit film and episode for “House Hunters” a reality TV show that features buyers that are searching for a new home. HGTV and Pie Town Productions will be filming from Monday, May 18, through Thursday, May 21 in Detroit.
“This is very exciting for the city & Downtown Detroit”, says Joy Santiago, Broker/Owner of Dwellings Unlimited, LLC, who will be the real estate expert for the episode. “It will give us an opportunity to show off some of the most beautiful homes in the area and to reveal to the nation what wonderful real estate choices we have in the city.
The "House Hunters" (buyers) will be choosing from 3 unique and different homes: A loft at River Place Condos, a historic home in Indian Village and a condo in the Westin Book Cadillac. "We're totally excited at our options to purchase. Detroit has gorgeous homes, and compared to real estate around the country, dollar for dollar has the best value," says Jay Diem, the homebuyer that also will be featured on the show.
Jay Diem, a IT Systems Analyst that has recently returned from working in Iraq for a government hired contracting company, and his wife, Boo-Young are the homebuyers that will be choosing their new home in the next few days.
Joy Santiago has been an agent in the Metro Detroit Area for the past 12 years and is broker & co-owner of Dwellings Unlimited, llc a real estate sales, management and investment company, specializing in unique housing & investments.
Contact
Joy Santiago
joy@dwellingsunlimited.com
313-980-0400
Dwellings Unlimited, llc
www.differentdwellings.com
www.dwellingsunlimited.com
###
Great News for First-Time Home Buyers!
HUD recently announced that qualified First-Time Home Buyers who want to take advantage of the available tax credit of up to $8,000 now have another option available to them to help them become homeowners.
It's clear that first-time home buyers have been having a major impact on the housing market this year. The National Association of Realtors announced that first-time buyers, who typically account for less than 40% of home sales each year, have been especially busy…in March, homes that were purchased by first-timers accounted for 53% of all sales, and this percentage is expected to hold true for all of 2009.
With home affordability higher than ever, available tax credits and some of the lowest interest rates ever recorded for home loans, who can blame them? Particularly as a first-time buyer, there may never be a better time to buy a home than right now.
However, the availability of a tax credit, while a great incentive, does not put the money in the hands of a buyer right away. HUD's announcement now allows for prospective and qualified home buyers to borrow the money from approved agencies and lenders.
While details of participating lenders and HUD-approved agencies are not yet available, this should turn up the heat on prospective buyers to get busy searching for their next home. As further details become available, I will get them to you.
In the meantime, alert your database that one more barrier to homeownership is being removed and the time to start shopping is now!
Detroit Development News
as featured on in Model D, February 10, 2009
 When HGTV looked at Detroit last spring to film several episodes of "My House is Worth What?" they turned to realtor Joy Santiago for possible locations. They ended up shooting two homes in Indian Village, one in Royal Oak and one in Southfield. The first of the four, a home in Indian Village on Seminole, will air at 11 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10.
The home's owner, Michael Tyson, will be on the air along with Santiago. His 1911 colonial home is 6,000 square feet, has five bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half baths. The episode looks at whether or not he should continue renovations on the home.
Read more about the filming of the shows and contact Santiago via her web site. Show info can be found here.
Source: Joy Santiago, Dwellings Unlimited, LLC
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
Neighborhoods: The Villages
As Featured in The Detroit Free Press
October 14, 2008
Metro home sales up, but prices plunge
Foreclosures fuel trend
BY GRETA GUEST
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Driven down by sales of foreclosed homes, median sale prices fell 34% in metro Detroit in September compared with a year ago, dipping below $10,000 in the city of Detroit.
The median price on a house or condo sold in Detroit last month plummeted 57%, to $9,250, from $21,250 a year ago, according to figures released Monday by Realcomp, a multiple listing service based in Farmington Hills.
Foreclosures represented two-thirds of sales in Detroit in September, and they boosted sales by 81% as buyers laid claim to 1,019 homes.
For the wider metro area, the median sale price was down 34%, from $129,000 a year ago to $85,000 last month.
"There's tons of properties out there that investors are snapping up and that skews the numbers," said Joy Santiago, a Southfield-based real estate broker. "You can't say in the city of Detroit that the values are down, because many areas are strong, like Indian Village and Palmer Woods. They are a little bit more stable."
Sales are picking up, she said.
"People have to start realizing there are awesome deals out there, and it is just the time to purchase," Santiago said. "September for me, in the past 10 years, has been slow, but it was my best September ever."
Dan Elsea, president of brokerage services for Real Estate One in Southfield, said the prices are evidence of heavy investor activity in Detroit.
"We are seeing that low end of the market sell quicker. If you have a $75,000 house in the city of Detroit, there are not a lot of buyers for it," Elsea said. "But if you have an $8,500 house, it sells very quickly."
He said that if investor activity is factored out, the true price depreciation in metro Detroit, excluding the city, is at a rate of 1% a month since last September.
Realcomp reported that 5,818 sales of houses and condos in the metro area were concluded during September, up 57% from 3,703 sales in the same month a year ago. The figures consist of closed sales reported by Realtors who subscribe to the service.
More than 37% of the September sales in the metro area were foreclosures, according to Karen Kage, Realcomp president.
But have we hit bottom yet?
"It is near impossible for me to say we are near done," Kage said.
Wayne County sales were up 73%, to 2,278, from 1,320 in September 2007; Oakland County sales rose 51%, from 941 to 1,422; Macomb County sales were up 58%, from 478 to 754, and Livingston County sales were up 45%, from 138 to 200.
And pending sales in September were up 75%, to 7,832 from 4,472 in September 2007. Pending sales are those with signed purchase agreements that have not closed.
With the credit crunch and falling prices, more pending deals are falling apart at the closing table. In September, 1,265 properties went back on the market that were either pending or withdrawn from the market. That compares with 732 properties put back on the market in September 2007, Kage said.
"It's not the best news ever," Kage said of the falling sales prices. "We have said all along that until we weed out some of the inventory, we will not see prices rise."
Realcomp also reported that housing inventory in metro Detroit dropped 16%, to 63,453 homes and condominiums on the market, as compared with 75,932 listings in September 2007. That's a 10.9-month supply at the current sales pace, far above a normal market of a three- to six-month supply.
Contact GRETA GUEST at 313-223-4192 or gguest@freepress.com.
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Real Estate Sales, Leasing, Management & Investments
The Villages of Detroit -- including nine East Side neighborhoods, such as the Berry Sub, Indian Village and West Village, will host an open house on Sept. 27 from 1-5 p.m. to introduce prospective residents to the community.