A Detroit woman has flipped eight homes in the Michigan City and has shared how she has made a huge profit. 

Chase C. Hunter bought her first properties in Detroit in 2021 after simply searching ‘best places to buy cheap properties’ on Google.

That curiosity led Hunter, who was living in her hometown of Houston at the time, to buy two properties on the same day in June 2021.

Hunter’s first property cost her $2,000 and the second $1,800.   

‘The day I closed was my very first time in Detroit,’ she told Realtor.com. 

In the years since Hunter has bought and flipped eight properties and moved to the Motor City full-time.

The Market in Detroit can be challenging to navigate for those who are not familiar with it on a daily basis. According to a real estate expert, buyers need to understand the cultural context of the city to make successful investments.

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Chase C. Hunter bought her first properties in Detroit in 2021

‘Investors come to Detroit from all corners of the country because the market is like no other,’ she told the publication. 

Despite the cheap initial price tag Hunter had to invest $85,000 in her first property to make it habitable for renters.  

Renovations on the second home cost $130,000 before she could turn it into her office. 

Initially, the expert used to purchase properties needing major renovations, including repairs from the roof to the basement. However, she now focuses on properties that can be quickly renovated cosmetically and sold for a profit.

‘I look for homes in the $80,000 range, because you spend less on repairs.’ 

These properties now need somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 invested on their renovations.  

Hunter has since qualified as a real estate agent and has established an investment group to help others invest in the city’s property market. 

Detroit’s real estate market has experienced significant growth, earning it the title of a ‘surprise boomtown’ by the Wall Street Journal. Property prices have appreciated rapidly, especially after the city’s bankruptcy filing a decade ago.

Hunter pictured outside her first Detroit property, which she bought for just $2,000

Hunter stands in front of her seventh investment property in Detroit

Detroit was named a ‘surprise boomtown’ by the Wall Street Journal last year

Hunter said it is important to choose the right areas of the city to invest in

Real estate prices hit a median sale price of $58,900 but have steadily risen to an average of $217,100 in 2023.

This leapt a further 10.5 percent, hitting a median sale price of $250,000 last year. 

‘Buyers, including investors, took advantage of low home prices in the area over the last decade, bringing energy and funds into the city,’ Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com said. 

However, ‘even after substantial price growth, the median sales price in Detroit was still [much] lower than the national sale price’ of $439,950 Jones explained. 

Detroit – the birthplace of Motown –  is seeing vast improvements in its social environment too and hit its lowest  crime rate in 57 years in 2023. 

However, Hunter said it is still important to choose the right areas of the city to invest in. 

‘Crime is definitely still a major challenge, it can deter you from buying here for sure.

‘I avoid really bad areas that would be unsafe for single mothers and children,’ she explained.

‘If a property doesn’t function well for a family, I move on.’    

The so-called ‘Motor City’ was once an industrial powerhouse, and home to the largest carmakers in the US.

But the demise of the big automakers, coupled with the mortgage crisis, drove millions from their homes in the 2000s as their properties were left worthless.

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A street view in Detroit’s Eastern Market area, a sign of the city’s recent urban regeneration  

Less than two decades ago, one in five houses stood empty there, with foreclosures mounting and properties on deserted streets changing hands for $1.

But as the car industry – this time with a focus on electric vehicles – begins to pick up again, the value of homes in the city has risen rapidly.

Despite the short-term price surge, Detroit still remains affordable, as much of its growth was catch-up after years of lagging behind.

The city, known as the birthplace of Motown music, has started to recover after decades of urban decline.

The restoration of Michigan Central train station, completed this year, was just the latest in a series of urban renewal projects that have turned Detroit into a tourist destination.

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