After years of population loss and economic decline, Detroit now shows signs of stability and renewal. Construction and development projects are breathing new life into the city, and commercial real estate financing is riding a new wave of increased credit access. As validation of this trend, the city’s mayor, Mike Duggan, was just decisively reelected.

By unpacking the flow of Detroit’s recent commercial property investments, we provide a better understanding of the Motor City’s current economic context and offer suggestions for how local leaders can help expand investments throughout the city.

We found that the investment and loan market for Detroit’s commercial, industrial, multifamily, and institutional properties is reemerging after declining during the Great Recession:

  1. Sales are increasing but are still less than half of the way back. Although sales of these commercial, industrial, multifamily, and institutional properties and land fell from $196 million in 2006 to $49 million in 2011, sales volume had increased to $81 million by 2015.
  2. There is strong growth in construction and rehabilitation activity. 
  3. Lending activity is robust. Debt financing peaked at $798 million in 2005 before falling dramatically to $282 million in 2008. Since 2015, lending levels have rebounded to $473 million.
  4. Investment projects are spread, but dollars are concentrated.

Read the full article on investment momentum by Brett Theodos at Urban Institute