Detroit Housing Market 2026: Prices, Sales, and Forecast

Detroit home prices have cooled over the past year: the median sale price in the city was about $105,000 in the three months through August 2026, down 2.8% from a year earlier, according to Redfin. Homes are also taking longer to sell, mortgage rates moved back above 7% this fall, and the forecasts we can find call for flat to modest price growth, not a rebound.

This post pulls the citywide for-sale numbers together in one place, explains why different sources disagree, and covers what the data does and doesn't tell you about buying in Detroit. For rents, vacancy, and rent-to-price math, see our separate Detroit rental market guide.

What are the key Detroit housing market numbers right now?

These are the most recent figures we could source for the city of Detroit, with the period each one covers. Citywide numbers blend renovated homes with distressed ones, so read them as the backdrop, not as the price of a specific house.

A few of these need context, so the sections below take them one at a time.

How much do homes cost in Detroit in 2026?

It depends on which number you use, and the three main sources measure different things:

• Redfin's median sale price (about $105,000) covers homes that sold over a rolling three-month window ending in August 2026.
• RE/MAX's median ($92,500) covers sales in August 2026 alone, drawn from MLS data for the city of Detroit. A single month moves around more than a three-month window.
• Zillow's Home Value Index ($77,199) is an estimate of the typical value of every Detroit home, sold or not. Because so much of the city's housing is unrenovated, it runs well below the sale-price medians.

All three point the same direction: prices in the city are flat to down over the past year. Zillow's index peaked near $82,000 in September 2025 and drifted down through mid-2026 before ticking up slightly in August. Over a longer window, it's still up about 46% from August 2019, when it sat near $53,000.

For comparison, Detroit is far below the national level. Redfin reported a national median sale price of $398,596 for August 2026. That gap is the reason investors look at Detroit, and also the reason to be careful: a $90,000 house that needs $60,000 of work isn't a $90,000 house.

What is a Detroit home worth per square foot?

Redfin put the median sale price per square foot at $66 in August 2026. Per-square-foot numbers in Detroit swing widely by block and condition. A renovated brick colonial in a stable neighborhood and a vacant house that needs a roof can sit on the same street at very different prices per foot, so use this figure only to sanity-check a listing, never to value one.

Are Detroit home sales going up or down?

Down. RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan counted 366 home sales in the city of Detroit in August 2026, a 13.1% drop from 421 a year earlier. That fits the broader picture: higher mortgage rates thin out the owner-occupant buyers who purchase most renovated homes, and fewer sales usually means more negotiating room for the buyers who are active.

Different trackers count sales differently. Some include only MLS listings, while others add off-market and foreclosure sales, which are common in Detroit. Compare a source with itself over time rather than mixing sources.

How long does it take to sell a house in Detroit?

Longer than a year ago. Redfin's median days on market was 49 in August 2026, up from 42 a year earlier, and its sale-to-list ratio fell to 94.8%. In plain terms, the typical Detroit home now sells a little more than 5% below its asking price after about seven weeks on the market.

The wider region shows the same slowing. Realtor.com's September 2026 data for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro showed 12,050 active listings, up about 13% from a year earlier, with a median of 43 days on market. More inventory and slower sales give buyers time to inspect and negotiate.

Whether that makes Detroit a buyer's market depends on the price range. Entry-level and renovated homes behave differently, and we break that down in is Detroit a buyer's or seller's market.

Is Detroit's population growing or shrinking?

Growing, for the third year in a row. The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates, released in May 2026, put Detroit at 649,095 residents as of July 1, 2025. In that same series, the city bottomed out at about 634,000 in 2022 and has added people every year since. Detroit is now the 26th largest U.S. city by population.

Population is a slow-moving signal, and a few thousand new residents won't change prices on a given block. But after decades of decline, a growing city means more households competing for a limited supply of move-in-ready homes, which supports both sale prices and rents over time.

About half of Detroit's occupied homes are renter-occupied, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. That large renter base is a big part of why investors buy here, and it's covered in more detail in our rental market guide.

How do mortgage rates affect the Detroit market?

More than the low prices suggest. Freddie Mac's survey had the 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% for the week of October 8, 2026, up from 6.30% a year earlier and from 7.28% the week before.

Higher rates hit Detroit in two places:

1. Resale buyers. Most renovated Detroit homes sell to owner-occupants with a mortgage. At 7.40%, the same monthly payment buys less house than it did a year ago, which caps what a renovated home can sell for.
2. Investors who finance. A rental bought with a DSCR or hard money loan has to clear a higher bar. Many low-priced Detroit homes also fall below lender minimum loan sizes, which pushes investors toward cash or creative financing. Our guides to DSCR loans in Detroit and fix-and-flip loans cover how that works at Detroit price points.

Cash buyers feel rates less directly, but they still feel them through slower resale and a smaller pool of buyers when it's time to exit.

What is the forecast for the Detroit housing market?

We don't predict prices, so here is what named forecasters published most recently:

• Zillow forecasts home values in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro to rise 1.8% from August 2026 to August 2027. That's a metro forecast, and the city has lagged the region: over the year to August 2026, Zillow's index rose about 2.1% for the metro while falling 5.7% for the city.
• Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research group, in its September 11, 2026 housing forecast, projected national home prices up 1.0% from the fourth quarter of 2026 to the fourth quarter of 2027, and the 30-year mortgage rate averaging 6.7% through 2027. That rate forecast was based on rates as of August 31. Freddie Mac's weekly rate has since moved above it, a reminder that rate forecasts get overtaken quickly.

Read together, the outlook is slow: low single-digit price growth for the region at best, and mortgage rates that stay well above the 3% to 4% range of a few years ago. Forecasts are not guarantees, and neither one is specific to Detroit's neighborhoods.

What does this mean if you're buying in Detroit?

A few practical takeaways from the data:

• Don't count on appreciation. With city values down over the past year and forecasts in the low single digits, a deal has to work on its purchase price, rehab, and rent today. Treat any price growth as upside.
• Negotiate. Homes are selling about 5% below list and sitting longer. That's room to ask for repairs, credits, or a lower price.
• Underwrite the house, not the city. Detroit's median mixes vacant houses with fully renovated ones. Pull comparable sales of similar condition on the same blocks before you trust any number in this post.
• Budget for older housing. Much of Detroit's housing stock is old enough to need real work on roofs, furnaces, sewer lines, and windows, and homes built before 1978 bring lead paint rules. Rentals also have to pass the city's inspection before you can legally collect rent (see our Detroit rental registration guide).
• Plan for winter. A vacant house that sits through a Detroit winter without heat can freeze its plumbing. Factor holding time and winterizing into a slower market.

If you're weighing a specific purchase, our post on whether it's a good time to buy rental property in Detroit walks through the deal-level questions that matter more than the citywide median.

Sources: Redfin Detroit housing market data and national median sale price (August 2026); RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan Housing Report for August 2026, as reported by DBusiness; Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow home value forecast (data through August 31, 2026); Realtor.com Residential Data, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro (September 2026); U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates (released May 2026) and American Community Survey 5-year estimates; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (October 8, 2026); Fannie Mae Housing Forecast (September 11, 2026).

How Great Lakes PMG helps

Great Lakes PMG is a licensed Michigan real estate brokerage based at 16554 Wyoming in Detroit. We've worked in the city since 2006, completed more than 350 Detroit renovations, and bring over 50 years of combined experience on the team.

• Investment consulting is a flat fee per property. We help you source and qualify a house, check it against block-level sales and rents instead of citywide averages, and plan the rehab.
• Fix and flip and our fix-and-flip calculator help you test a resale plan against today's slower market.
• Property management is a percentage of the rent we actually collect, for investors who want to hold.
• Case studies show real purchase prices, rehab budgets, and results on Detroit properties.

Have a property in mind? Contact us and we'll tell you how it fits the current market.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median home price in Detroit in 2026?

Redfin put Detroit's median sale price at about $105,000 for the three months through August 2026, down 2.8% from a year earlier. RE/MAX reported a $92,500 median for August 2026 sales alone, and Zillow estimated the typical value of all Detroit homes at $77,199.

Are Detroit home prices going down?

Slightly, over the past year. Redfin, RE/MAX, and Zillow all showed city prices below year-earlier levels as of August 2026. Zillow's index is still up about 46% from August 2019.

How long do homes take to sell in Detroit?

Redfin reported a median of 49 days on market in August 2026, up from 42 days a year earlier, with homes selling for about 94.8% of list price.

What is Detroit's population in 2026?

The latest Census Bureau estimate put Detroit at 649,095 residents as of July 1, 2025, the city's third straight year of population growth.

What is the Detroit housing market forecast?

Zillow forecasts metro Detroit home values to rise 1.8% from August 2026 to August 2027. Fannie Mae's September 2026 forecast calls for national home prices to rise about 1% in 2027, with 30-year mortgage rates averaging 6.7%.

Is Detroit a good place to buy a house right now?

Prices are low and buyers have more negotiating room than a year ago, but higher mortgage rates and slower sales cut both ways. Whether a house is a good buy depends on its condition, block, and all-in cost, which is what our investment consulting is built to assess.