Vacancy Rate Calculation For Detroit

[David Harris]

When calculating the vacancy rate for Detroit, what percentage should I use when running numbers?  One website says vacancy rate for apartments was 16% at the end of 2020. Other websites say 6-8%. I suspect that 2020 was possibly due to Covid-19. Also many websites are talking about apartment vacancy, but I need vacancy rate estimates for SFH. Please inquire.

[Drew Sygit]

First issue: what do you mean when you say "Detroit"?

Too many investors mingle "Detroit" and "Metro Detroit". There's a huge difference!

You should be able to find separate statistics for most Metro Detroit suburban cities.

For the City of Detroit, vacancy depends on:

1) Area - you can try to search by zip code, but don't get your hopes up

2) Class of neighborhood, property, tenant base - there is less vacancy in higher classes, higher in lower classes

You might want to follow the "Deep Dive" series we're doing on our BiggerPockets blog about Metro Detroit cities, City of Detroit Neighborhoods and comparing Metro Detroit to other hotspots investors usually consider:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...