Where to start in Detroit?

[Megan McClung]

Ever wonder where to flip in Detroit?

An easy hack is sticking to "Traditional Main Street Overlay Areas" designated by the Detroit Zoning Code.

The orange areas are original overlay areas (think Midtown, Corktown, Bagley).

The purple areas are the new overlay areas. They are up-and-coming areas like Morningside, East English Village, Cornerstone Village, and Moross-Morang.

My favorite purple area is 48224 (E Warren). The architecture and investment from the City makes this an ideal area to invest.

Detroit is 140 square miles, but if you stick to the overlay areas, that's where the City is investing, where developers are building, and where most redevelopment is happening.

[Travis Biziorek]

Hi Megan, I agree the 48224 zip is a great area if you pick the right spots. But like every zip in Detroit, there are good areas and bad areas. You really need to understand what makes a block strong.

Morningside/EEV are pretty much uninvestable these days for buy-and-hold folks. I have 5 rentals in the "heart" of Morningside (south of E Warren and north of Mack). Prices have gotten too high now to really make sense from a buy-and-hold perspective. And you can forget about EEV!

That said, my team does a lot a bit further north, usually on the other side of I-94 (but at times we find deals south of there). And the numbers still work if you find the right deals.

All that to say, Detroit is an extremely nuanced market. And it's important people work with those that truly understand all these minor differences in areas and zip codes.