Deep Dive into Metro Detroit Cities: Roseville

Metro Detroit has always captured the attention of rental investors seeking lucrative opportunities. The metropolitan areas of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties are well-known for their affordable housing stock and good property deals, but Metro Detroit can confuse even more experienced investors.

While it’s filled to the brim with good deals, the Metro Detroit market is also overwhelmingly difficult to sift through to find the best opportunities. Even the most seasoned investor can get lost in the 185 cities and 290 neighborhoods—all varying in shape, size, and character.

You’ll need expert guidance to traverse through the market, so you know where to invest and where to avoid. Lucky for you, this ultimate guide series will help you do just that.

Our team has over 2 decades of experience as a property management company and living as residents in Metro Detroit. We know the ins and outs of the market well enough to create this series, diving into the investment potential of each city and neighborhood to help you evaluate each area before you pour your hard-earned money in.

We’ll focus on the featured area’s strengths, weaknesses, and all the factors that will contribute to your success as a rental property investor—such as the type of property management required and the expected return on investment you can hope for.

For this installment, we’re focusing on Roseville—a city in Macomb that boasts of recent reinvestment and expansion of its existing properties. Let’s dive in!

Source: Google Maps

Roseville

The City of Roseville is in Macomb County, Michigan. It has a population of 47,692 in a total area of 9.86 square miles (25.54 km2), resulting in a population density of around 4,836 per square mile—denser than Dearborn, but less dense than Grosse Pointe Park. Lot sizes here are modest, but not cramped. With 19 constituent neighborhoods housing all its residents, Roseville is the 27th largest community in the state.

Roseville isn’t considered a Ring City, as we call it, since it doesn’t directly border the City of Detroit. Still, it’s close enough to have similar features, like high rental demand and affordable properties. And you won’t find many of the typical risks associated with the City of Detroit itself when investing in Roseville.

The city is located inside the Detroit metropolitan area, just 2 miles west of St. Clair Shores and 12 miles northeast of the City of Detroit. You can see its location clearly in the map below:

Source: Georgetown Public Policy Review

If you need more help, here is a list of all the cities in Metro Detroit. All the ones highlighted in green are Ring Cities (best spots for rental investments!), while all those with hyperlinks are other Deep Dives that we’ve already published:

Roseville in a Nutshell

Let’s go back to 1837 when Michigan first became a state. Around that time, there was a quaint farming community that became a part of Orange Township. Fast forward to 1943, the little town was named Erin, thanks to its strong Irish heritage. While this was all happening, William Rose became Erin’s first postmaster and established the Roseville Post Office—named after the postmaster’s father, Denison Rose, a hero from the War of 1812.

In 1886, they built the Erin Township Hall at the corner of Gratiot Avenue and 11 Mile Road, creating a town hall for the cities of Eastpointe, Roseville, St. Clair Shores, and a part of Fraser. By 1926, Roseville became a village. A few decades later, in 1958, that village officially became the City of Roseville.

Nowadays, Roseville is a bustling city with a diverse mix of folks, both white- and blue-collar workers. The city comprises people working in office and administrative support, sales jobs, and food service providers. Interestingly, Roseville has more locals working with computers and math than 95% of the country (that’s a tech-savvy city right there).

The city has a lot to offer to its residents, with its wide variety of activities and programs that cater to families and a wide range of age groups. For example, the Recreation Authority Roseville-Eastpointe houses the Senior Center, and the Roseville Public Library has over 21,000 items and 30 computers for locals to use.

Roseville isn’t just about fun and leisure; it’s also home to various industries. There are many companies in the military, printing, automotive, paper recycling, and food service industries, where around 681 acres of its land is devoted to industrial property. There is also easy access to highways I-94 and I-696, CN Railway, and Groesbeck corridor—making Roseville highly desirable amongst commuters (and the rental investors who cater to them).

With these developments, reinvestments, and expansion of its property market, is Roseville a good place to invest in rental properties today? Let’s take a closer look.

Rent & Rent-To-Price Ratio (The 1% Rule)

Based on Niche’s data, Roseville’s average rent across property types is $1,047. Breaking this figure down to bedroom size, Bestplaces provides us with a comparison of Roseville’s average rent versus Metro Detroit, Michigan, and the rest of the country:

Source: Bestplaces

As we can see, Roseville is charging higher rent than its surrounding areas.

Looking at the current listings on Zillow, we can see that 3-bedroom units in Roseville are the most popular in the city:

Source: Current listings on Zillow as of August 2023

With this information, let’s use the rent-to-price ratio to determine if these homes meet the industry standard for achieving good cash flow. The idea is to ensure that the monthly rent is equal to or higher than 1% of the property’s purchase price, plus the cost of repairs.

We’ll use the Zillow listing below as an example: a 3-bedroom home along Hazelwood St, Roseville. With a rent estimate of $1,220 per month and a property price of $169,500, the resulting ratio is 0.7%—just a few percentages away from the usual 1% ratio of Metro Detroit cities around the City of Detroit.

Source: Listing on Zillow as of August 2023

House Value and Appreciation

Niche reports an average house value in Roseville of $107,300. This may be understated, however, as Zillow’s data shows that Roseville home values are around $160,652, on average, instead. They adjust this value seasonally and only include mid-price homes.

The results show that home values have increased by 1.3% over the past year:

Source: Zillow

Moreover, Redfin also reported that the median sales price of Roseville properties is $153,000—a decrease of 7.3% year-over-year (Data as of June 2023). While there are fewer homes sold this year compared to last, the homes that do sell are snatched up after 8 days.

The numbers don’t lie: Redfin crowns Roseville properties as “very competitive” based on their Compete Score, where many homes receive multiple offers with waived contingencies. Regular homes sell just 1% below the list price, and “hot homes” will sell 3% above the list price.

Source: Redfin

Based on NeighborhoodScout, the most common housing type in Roseville is single-family detached homes (73.65%). Other types include large apartment complexes and high-rise apartment units (14.48%), row houses and alternative attached homes (5.63%), and a few duplexes and converted apartments (5.0%).

Now, Roseville properties are evenly priced across the city, but the homes get slightly more affordable the closer you are to the City of Detroit. In other words, the lower you go on the city’s map, the more options there are for cheaper homes. It’s a good location to benefit from Detroit’s affordable housing stock while avoiding most of the investment risks commonly associated with the area by finding a sweet spot somewhere in between:

Source: Current listings on Zillow as of August 2023

In terms of appreciation, Roseville properties have experienced some of the most impressive home appreciation rates in any community in the country. Real estate here appreciated 191.59% over the past decade, with an average annual appreciation rate of 11.30%.

Roseville is in the top 10% of the nation for real estate appreciation, making the city an ideal location for any investor looking for long-term gains. Over the last 12 months, its properties appreciated by 2.3%, which is only 10% lower than most of America. In the last quarter, Roseville properties did, unfortunately, show an appreciation rate of -2.17%, but this decrease might be due to the high property taxes in the area.

Nonetheless, given Roseville properties’ impressive historical appreciation rate, we expect the rate to climb back to 14.71% in the near future.

Here are some of the hotspots that have the highest appreciation rates in Roseville:

Source: NeighborhoodScout

Quality of Tenants, Properties, and Living

Aside from the rent amounts, property values, and appreciation rates, 3 other crucial factors of rental property investment are the quality of tenants, property conditions, and neighborhood appeal. These factors determine the type of tenants you’ll have to manage, the property maintenance work to expect, and the overall appeal of the location you’ll invest in.

Let’s take a closer look at what it’s like to invest and live in Roseville.

Average Property Class and Condition: B

Average property age: 58 years

According to Bestplaces, a little over a third of Roseville properties were built from 1950 to 1959. The average property age is 58 years, which is 8 years more than the industry standard for “older homes.” Overall, the property ages in Roseville are heavily skewed towards the older end of the spectrum compared to Metro Detroit and the rest of Michigan:

Source: Bestplaces

You may run into older properties in Roseville, which means you need to be prepared to deal with the usual problems that come with aged homes. Here is a list of the common issues of 60-year-old homes for you to check before making a purchase:

• Foundation issues
• Hazardous building materials (e.g., lead-based paint)
• Deteriorating roof and structures
• Underpowered electrical systems
• Plumbing problems, like pipes that need to be replaced

Nevertheless, as long as you take the time to inspect and budget properly, you’ll be able to bring the property up to rental standard without spending too much money—creating a great investment opportunity within Roseville’s older housing stock.

Quality of Life in the Neighborhood: A-

Now that we know the general property conditions to expect, let’s see what kind of life Roseville offers. After all, you want to ensure that the city attracts good quality tenants who will take care of your rental and be responsible for following your lease agreements—factors that directly impact your bottom-line profits.

So, here’s a glimpse of life in Roseville:

Local Economy

A couple of key districts and focus areas in Roseville contribute the most to its local economy. These are on top of the economic development resources like the City of Roseville Community and Economic Development and Macomb County Planning & Economic Development that support the growth of companies and businesses in the city:

• Roseville Downtown Development Authority (DDA): This group ensures that Roseville is an environment that’s attractive for businesses, residents, and employees, with numerous companies and organizations creating a “downtown” feel in the district.
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• Utica Junction Town Center Overlay District: This Town Center Overlay District was created to allow the redevelopment of Utica Junction into a pedestrian-friendly town center area with mixed-use businesses and sites.
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• Utica Junction Blight Elimination Plan: This is Roseville’s plan to discuss, strategize, and eliminate blight from the city’s Town Center area using CDBG funds.
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• Gratiot Avenue & Groesbeck Highway Reinvestment Strategy: This plan goes into detail about how Gratiot and Groesbeck Highway can strategically transform and contribute to the economy.
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• Community Master Plan: This master plan was adopted in 2010 and included comprehensive steps to grow and develop Roseville according to its policies, guidelines, and priorities. It has all the public policies that will shape the city’s future and boost its economy for the long haul.
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• Capital Improvement Plan (CIP): This is the short-range plan (covering roughly 4 to 10 years) that determines the capital projects, identifies equipment purchases, and details the schedule and financing options for the Community Master Plan.
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• Little Mack Commercial Corridor: Roseville is also diligently developing this corridor with many hotels, medical offices, a new Kroger marketplace, reinvestment of Meijer, and many more upcoming rejuvenation of businesses. The city is also making sure that the Little Mack Commercial Corridor is bicycle-friendly and shaped around non-motorized plans.

All these organizations and plans boost the economy of Roseville, making it an attractive area for investing in rental properties. Roseville may quickly become a key city in Macomb County—which means now is a good time for you to purchase properties while the prices are still relatively low.

School Rankings

Having good schools serving an area will attract families to nearby rental properties. Lucky for you, there are several quality elementary and middle schools serving the City of Roseville.

Take a look at these schools that GreatSchools has rated well based on academic performance, equity, and a myriad of other measures:

• Mark Twain Elementary School
• Dort Elementary School
• Fountain Elementary School
• Kaiser Elementary School
• Lucile S Patton Elementary School
• Reach Charter Academy
• Roseville Middle School
• Eastland Middle School
• Roseville High School

Given the many school options for elementary schools, we suggest that you focus on Roseville properties that will attract families with younger children. Chances are, they’ll be happy to know that a quality elementary school serves the home you’re offering.

Crime and Safety

Many parts of Roseville are deemed “safe” by NeighborhoodScout, like the ones indicated below:

Source: NeighborhoodScout

And, although Roseville’s crime rate is above the national average, Roseville is like much of the Metro Detroit area, where the crime rate can change drastically from one street to another. In other words, prioritize safe areas by all means, but don’t forget that crime rates and safety will always depend on each block, subarea, and neighborhood.

There’s a high chance that you’ll find a good property in a perfectly safe neighborhood just a few steps away from one that’s considered “unsafe” by certain standards.

Livability

Roseville is part of Niche’s list of best places to retire in America. Moreover, it has achieved the following rankings based on Niche’s other measures and insights:

Source: Niche

Areavibes also gave Roseville an excellent livability score of 72/100, where the factors that drove the score include the city’s commute, cost of living, and housing. And with real estate prices here being 48% lower than Michigan’s average, combined with rental prices that are 13% higher, Roseville is certainly a place where people would want to live and invest.

Here’s a breakdown of the cost of living in Roseville according to Bestplaces:

Source: Bestplaces

Tenant Class and Demographics: C+

Lastly, we need to evaluate the tenant pool in Roseville.

Being a rental property investor, it’s of utmost importance that we determine the type of tenants that are present in the area. This helps you see the potential of securing quality renters who’ll help retain the value of your property and find assurance that they will boost your investment returns.

Take a look at the information from Bestplaces below, where we’ve already listed the factors that contribute the most to their class and demographics:

• Income: The average income per capita and household of Roseville residents is, unfortunately, lower than the average of Metro Detroit, Michigan, and the US. This means that you can’t expect to earn the same rental income from Roseville properties as you might in other nearby areas:

• Unemployment: The unemployment rate in Roseville is similar to that of Michigan, but a whole percentage higher than that of Metro Detroit. This means you still have to be diligent about screening for tenants with income stability, but it shouldn’t be difficult to find renters with stable jobs:

• Education: Similar to the rest of Metro Detroit and Michigan, the majority of Roseville residents have completed high school and made their way to college:

• Diversity: In terms of racial diversity, Niche gives us the following information:

Roseville residents are a good tenant pool for Class B and C rental investors. You can find quality tenants that have high educational achievement, stable jobs, and young families. All you have to do is be diligent with thorough tenant screening to sift through the options and achieve a low-risk rental property investment.

Source: Google Maps

Overall Score: B+

With all the information we’ve gathered and our own experience as a property management company in Metro Detroit, we gave Roseville an overall score of B+. The factors that contributed the most to this score include the following:

• - Roseville properties have a fairly good rent-to-price ratio where you can purchase properties at a price that’s reasonable against the estimated rent amount, giving you relatively good cash flow.
• - Roseville properties have been greatly appreciating in the last decade, and are continuing to do so in the recent quarters, offering many opportunities for investors to gain equity.
• - Roseville provides an excellent quality of life, where the local economy is booming, the schools are ranked well, crime and safety aren’t too much of an issue, and overall livability is sound. This area can certainly attract residents looking for greener pastures to settle down in.

Now that you’ve reviewed all there is to know about investing in Roseville, we highly recommend that you take a trip down to the city yourself to see the investment opportunities in real life. You’ll be surprised to see just how many Roseville properties offer a great balance of cash flow and equity gains, opening the doors for you to reap good returns continuously and in the long run.

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Do you want to know more about the cities and neighborhoods in Metro Detroit?

Don’t worry, our series isn’t stopping anytime soon! This Deep Dive series is never going to end until we’ve covered every nook and cranny of Metro Detroit. So if you have an area you’d like us to prioritize, comment down below, and we'll be sure to cover it in our upcoming installments.

Should you need more help in understanding Metro Detroit areas, feel free to send me a message. We’re more than willing to help you venture into the famous Detroit real estate market scene.