Just about every individual interested in buying a home in Michigan or the Metro-Detroit area knows the pinch from our current economy.  Simply put, people in Michigan are still struggling and that scares a lot of folks away from taking the leap to get a mortgage and buy that first house.

It’s important to remember that you don’t have to buy a $450,000 home in Birmingham or Bloomfield Hills to settle down and start a family.  There are plenty of other places with extremely affordable housing.  Where are some of these places?  You might be surprised.

Moving Toward the Motor City

When most people think of buying a home in Southeast Michigan, their first though is to avoid getting too close to Detroit. Images of blight and crime filter in at such a rate that it often makes people nervous. But the media has yet to catch up with what’s really going on Detroit, and you’d be surprised at the amount of revitalization and redevelopment that is happening.  Despite a downturn in housing costs, Detroit and many of its surrounding communities are becoming a focal point for people looking to buy their first house cheap – and the area is on the mend.

While the struggles of the economy and the past exodus from the region are a sad thing to consider, it’s created  a unique opportunity for first time buyers in Michigan. There are numerous houses on the market under foreclosure, available for sale at much lower prices. In January, the amount of home sales jumped 11.4% from last January (2011), from 385 to 429. Of those sales, 267 were foreclosed homes. People are beginning to realize that buying a home in Metro Detroit is a smart investment.

How would you like to have a home for under $100,000? How about under $10,000?  In the Metro-Detroit Area, it’s possible. The median sale price of a home in January was $9,000 dollars, down 10% from the year before.

That’s less than a new car.

Even as you spread out into the more expensive surrounding counties, the prices have still dropped. For example, in Lapeer Township last January, the median sale price of a home was $93,500. This year? $67,800. That’s nearly a 30% drop and it shows that home values aren’t just dropping in Detroit because of local influence.  Homes are becoming more affordable all over southeast Michigan.

Detroit, the City We Love

Seeking approval for a mortgage through a mortgage banker in Michigan might feel a little nerve-wracking, and buying a home in the Metro Detroit even more so. But the economic climate is changing for the better.

Foreclosed homes are in high demand, the supply is depleting and as supply diminishes, the price will begin to return closer to market value.

So to answer the question; yes – now is the right time to buy a home. Now is the time to benefit from the reduce value on homes and settle in, create an investment in your home, and use it to begin the next phase in your life.

Buying a home in Metro Detroit will offer a chance to live in a growing community experiencing a revival. Detroit is putting itself back on the map in terms of art, culture, and technology. Who wouldn’t you want to be in the middle of that kind of comeback?