Detroit, broke with almost no prospects for recovery, is the fourth most popular U.S. destination for Chinese real estate investors. In fact, it was bad news--the city's July 18 bankruptcy filing--that triggered renewed interest. "While the bankruptcy is viewed as a bad thing elsewhere, it raised the exposure level of Detroit's real estate market in China," says Evonne Xu, a Michigan attorney catering to Chinese purchasers. Middle Kingdom, meet Motown.
Chinese shoppers can't resist a bargain. Where else can you buy a two-story home in the U.S. for $39? China Central Television, the state broadcaster, in March reported that two houses in Detroit cost the same as a pair of leather shoes. No wonder a poster on Sina Weibo, the Twitter-like service, asked, "Seven-hundred thousand people, quiet, clean air, no pollution, democracy--what are you waiting for?"...the Chinese buying up Detroit says less about the prospects of Motown than what they think of their own country. It's not like the Motor City is a good place to invest. It has what is surely the worst housing market in the U.S. "I've been in the Detroit area for 35 years," says Chen, the broker from Troy. "Thirty-five years ago downtown Detroit was like this, and it's not getting better."
She's right. After all, who can love a city where the most powerful figure is a bankruptcy judge, the state has had to take over the local government, and creditors are about to cart off the art museum?
But as grim as the future is for Motown, it is evidently better than China's, at least according to many Chinese. They are pouring their cash into Detroit.
Suckers...