Home Sales Continue to Sink in Metro Detroit; RiverWalk to Inaugurate New Facilities

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

According to a report issued this week by Realcomp II Ltd., a real estate information company headquartered in Farmington Hills, Metro Detroit residential real estate continued to fall for the sixth consecutive month. The report, quoted by The Detroit News, reveals that June sales of homes and condominiums fell to 4,931 units or 5.2 percent in Oakland, Wayne, Livingston and Macomb counties as compared to the same month in 2010, when 5,201 units were sold. The overall sales for the first half of 2011 declined 4.2 percent; Macomb County was the only area to experience a slight sales increase in the six month period.

The Metro Detroit median price fell as well, from $75,000 in June 2010 to $65,000 in June this year. The only county where the median price increased in June is Livingston, with $147,500 or a 5.4 percent gain. Wayne County experienced the toughest fall, with the June median price dropping 23 percent to $34,808. The inventory continued to fall as well, reaching 23,315 units or an 18.2 percent drop.

Model D reports that a new 250-foot public off-shore wharf and 21,000-square-foot facility will be inaugurated along the Detroit RiverWalk on July 18 by the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority. The $22 million RiverWalk additions are on Atwater at Bates, where the public wharf will accommodate a variety of cruise ships and naval frigates. The 21,000-square-foot facility includes new offices for the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, meeting rooms, a command room for ships and state-of-the-art marine technology.

According to Model D, the wharf was designed for commercial and cruise ship traffic purposes, and it is likely to become an attraction for international tourists visiting Windsor.