The Impacts of Housing Prices Worldwide

A few months ago, I was in Detroit when I saw this headline: Median home sales price in Detroit: $7500.

My first reaction was that must be a typo. Surely an editor left off a zero, by accident.

Nope.

Parts of Florida and California may be the poster children for the housing boom and bust: an over-inflated spike and a precipitous drop. But Detroit… What can you say about Detroit? Part of me was tempted to rush out and buy a home in Detroit for a cool $5,000. Why not? After all, how much lower could home prices fall? Then I went and looked at the Detroit landscape. I’m no real estate mogul, but to buy a home near parts of downtown Detroit felt like throwing your money away.

To me, downtown Detroit is symbolized by one structure: Tiger Stadium. When I visited Detroit in April, the old home of the Detroit Tigers stood half torn down, the left and right field grandstands in tatters, but still more or less in tact. The former playing field was no more than unattractive dirt and weeds cordoned off by a chain link fence.

The stadium demolition began last year. Up until a few weeks ago, preservationists were still continuing their decade-long fight to preserve what was left; this summer, its demolition will be complete. The old ballpark that first opened to the public in 1912 fell three years short of turning 100.

But what does Tiger Stadium have to do with international home prices? Well, I suppose it symbolizes societies starting over. You need a healthy housing market to have grand civic structures. What will be built where the stadium used to sit? Will anything be built? Homes and buildings are symbols of our society and culture. Do other countries tear down their civic treasures when they are past their prime? Does this happen in Europe and Asia? And is it a good thing? What purpose did an empty stadium really serve? On the other hand, what if the Romans had torn down the Coliseum?

If you know of any examples of cities or communities where significant civic structures are being torn down, please post it on the discussion board below.

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