Rent Rates Up In Metro Detroit

(CBS DETROIT) - Finding the perfect home can be a hassle, especially when you're looking for the perfect price point.

Reimer Priester of Villages Property Management says the days of $700 rent averages are a thing of the past in Metro Detroit, due to an increase in maintenance and renovation expenses.

"There were a lot of costs increases, frankly. Even as we look to our own property management, you can't retain anybody under $20 or $30 an hour, so labor costs are high," said Priester. "Material costs across the board are high, so when you have the costs of all the inputs increasing, it makes sense that a lot of landlords would increase their rent."

According to RentCafe.com, the average rent for an apartment in Detroit is currently $1,115, a 3% increase from last year.

Claudia Sanford, the Director of Housing Placement and Tenant Organizing with the United Community Housing Coalition, says it's been a challenge placing families in affordable homes due to the rise in rates.

Sanford said, "Purchasers are coming in. They see properties in great locations, they're purchasing that property, and then they're raising the rents. They're doing renovations. Some of the buildings need much-needed repairs which had not been done by the owners over the years, so those properties are starting to increase in value beyond people's ability to pay."

According to the 2019 U.S. Census, the median household income in Detroit stood at $30,894 per year.

That means for the average resident, rent could take up 43% of monthly wages.

Priester said, "Do I think units that are currently priced at $1,350 will in the near term go down to $875? There's no way that's possible, and there's no way that's possible because we have units that are priced at $1,350. If we went down to $875, we'd be losing $300 a month every month on those units, like it's not an economic possibility. The taxes only increase. Insurances only increase. The costs of inputs are only increasing. So, there's no economical way to reduce those costs that dramatically without literally going bankrupt within months."

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