Project Summary
Finding your ideal home location in a city setting is similar to the one in other settings. However, the geographical blocks are usually much smaller, often containing just a block. That makes the process so much more precise, but also so much more volatile, because in a city setting a neighborhood can change very quickly. That is the reason we chose a city where precision is very important not to wander into an unwanted neighborhood to to find a gem neighborhood.
Project Map Description
Project Maps
Median Listing Price
For a metro or city, Zip code boundaries are usually small enough to divide the area sufficiently for analysis. This is also a good start before diving into smaller areas, like block groups. Zip codes are also usually well know geographies.
The Median Listing Prices for homes in Wayne County, MI show a steady decline towards the City of Detroit while its downtown area and suburbs enjoy higher median prices.
The area around the University of Detroit Mercer is within the city of Detroit and shows a slightly elevated median listing price level.
Total Households
Focusing on the city of Detroit shows a half-circle outside the downtown district of low and very low population density. The further out of Downtown, the generally higher the population density.
The Zip code of University of Detroit Mercy (48221) with the adjacent Zip codes 48203 and 48238 is an area of population density contrasts, with high density areas to the North (Palmer Park and Palmer Woods neighborhoods) and low/very low density to the South and Southeast (Highland Park) and Northeast (Northern 48203 Zip code; neighborhoods around Woodward Ave).
Race and Ethnicity
Detroit has an overwhelmingly Black population. The striking exception is Hamtramck in the center of the city. The suburbs to the Southwest (Dearborn) and East (Grosse Pointe) have a much smaller Black share of the population.
The Block Group of the University of Detroit Mercy is like a mini-exception to the rule, with a low share of a black population. Also to the area North of it (Palmer Woods and Palmer Park) has a somewhat lower share.
Educational Attainment
Education levels are generally very low in Detroit. Exceptions are the suburbs to the East (Grosse Pointe), the very Southwest (Dearborn) and the Downtown district.
A notable exception is also the area North of University of Detroit Mercy.
Households with $75k+ Income
The share of households with an income above the national median (around $75,000) are low.
However,income alone – while important – does not tell enough of the story of home ownership levels in some urban settings.
House Value Multiple of Income
While house values are one side to the affordability equation, income is the other. Generally speaking, for a house to be affordable, the value should not exceed three times the annual income of a household. Based on this simple metric, Detroit is very affordable, also for less affluent households, due to the low house values.
In the Zip code of University of Detroit Mercy (48221) there appears to be good affordability for homes mostly below the 3x household income metric. To he South (Zip code 48238) houses are even more affordable.
Ownership without a Mortgage
The number of owner occupied homes without a mortgage is high in Detroit, with most areas above the Michigan average of 41%.
Interesting are areas where either 1) the house prices are high, yet the number of mortgage free owners is also high or 2) the number of owner occupied housing is high and the number of mortgage free owners is low. In the first case, owners are either older and were able to pay off the mortgage or are wealthy enough to be mortgage free. In the second case one should find more younger families that are starting out with a new home.
