Deep Dive into North End, a Detroit Neighborhood
Welcome to North End.
This neighborhood just north of Midtown Detroit is really one to watch for rental property investors. There are a LOT of opportunities here – you just have to pick the right block.
That’s why we’re doing these Deep Dive series on each of the City of Detroit’s 105 neighborhoods. We want to give you an insider’s perspective on each area, taking you through the streets where we’ve been investing, managing properties, and living as locals ourselves for almost 30 years.
Check out our personal tour of the area, where we take you street by street in North End and show you some real-life rental investment opportunities:
If you like what you see, read on for some in-depth data and analysis of North End.
In this series, we’ll be grading each area on critical factors for rental investment success, like:
- Housing stock quality
- Market dynamics
- Tenant demographics
- Livability scores
And more.
At the end, we come up with a Report Card and an overall score for each area, so you can easily compare different Detroit neighborhoods when deciding where to purchase your next unit.
Here are the links to all of our past Deep Dives:
We’re working on covering every Detroit neighborhood one by one, but if you’d like more data on an area not listed here, please let us know! We’ll be sure to prioritize it in our upcoming editions.
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your very own tour of the Motor City’s most promising opportunities for landlords.
Overview of North End – Detroit, Michigan
Today, we’re looking at North End, a neighborhood north of Midtown Detroit, with Hamtramck to the east and historic Boston-Edison to the west:
We actually wrote a Deep Dive into North End back in 2020, where we told investors that this was a Class C neighborhood, quickly trending towards Class B, and that you should get in on this market ASAP to make the most of the returns coming quickly down the road.
Fast forward to 2023, and the North End was actually named by realtors as one of the hottest neighborhoods in Detroit amongst buyers, thanks to its proximity to downtown and large, single-family homes.
So, did any of you take our advice? (If so, please email us and let us know – we’d love to hear your investment stories!)
If not, don’t worry. While the data looks pretty different to what it was 4 years ago, there is still a lot of opportunity here for entry-level and seasoned rental investors.
While the North End is heating up, it’s still not nearly as competitive as places like Ferndale and Oak Park.
Here’s some quick data on the neighborhood:
The name of the game here: POTENTIAL.
This is one of Detroit’s fast-developing areas, but it’s still ripe with opportunity.
With a population of 4,401 and a population density of 3,113 people per square mile, the North End is 35.8% less densely-populated than the average Detroit neighborhood.
This is partly due to the fact that there are still a lot of empty lots and teardown-worthy buildings here, but it’s also home to a lot of parks, community gardens, and homes that sit on fairly large lots. (Which means plenty of room to buy, renovate, or build new construction.)
So, why is the North End so appealing to tenants, local businesses, and, by extension, investors?
- The “Corktown Bubble”
Dan Gilbert’s $5.6 billion dollar investment into revitalizing Downtown Detroit has been reshaping the city since 2009.
Development has been moving north along the Woodward Corridor ever since: first Downtown, then Midtown, then Wayne State University and New Center, and now the North End. Ford’s $1B tech campus at Michigan Central Station in nearby Corktown is accelerating the process.
- QLINE Expansion
The QLINE ends at Grand Blvd, but plans are being made to extend it up Woodward Ave, past the North End – which will of course increase property values!
The tram line is set to come under new management in 2024 and hopefully undergo this much-needed expansion, but as early as 2016, speculators began buying up lots along the QLINE route in Highland Park and the North End, investing roughly $1 billion total in local real estate. And now those bets are paying off.
- Famous for its Community
This is a cultural hub of Detroit.
Once home to Motown legends like Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and James Brown, the North End maintains a strong sense of community today that makes residents proud to call it home.
It’s also known for its public spaces and community gardens, which residents maintain on disused lots of land.
- Great Investment Potential:
The North End is a perfect example of the dichotomy in Detroit, which for us investors means opportunity.
For example, on the corner of Oakland Ave and Marston Street in southeastern North End, you’ve got freshly-renovated homes, well-kept gardens, and new refurbs taking place on the west side of Marston St.
But when you cross Oakland Ave, the east end of Marston has several empty lots, with some abandoned homes up for sale. The development hasn’t reached that far yet, but it will.
In summary:
There are people already sitting on lots here speculating, building new apartment buildings, and renovating abandoned buildings – so clearly other investors see the potential for those to be money-makers.
And considering you can still find deals here for under $50k, renovate them, and rent them out as duplexes (which most of the units here are), that’s pretty much guaranteed positive cash flow.
As long as you buy on the right street!
Because the North End area is also a prime example of how starkly different Detroit can be when you travel just one block in either direction.
Housing Market Analysis
Now, let’s dive into the property market data for the North End and give you our perspective on the area, block by block.
Sale Trends
Last year alone, home values surged by 20.2%, likely due to the anticipated opening of the QLINE and the reopening of Michigan Central Station in Corktown as a tech innovation center for Ford’s automated vehicle research.
The impact is clear. Back in 2020, when we last took a Deep Dive into the North End, the average home price was $94,660. As of August 2024, it’s increased by 55.8%, to $147,495:
The average home price in all of Detroit as a whole is $74,882 – so prices here are now pretty much double the city average.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still find great deals here. We’ll take a closer look at some current properties on the market in a few minutes, so stick around.
Want more info on specific investment opportunities in North End, Detroit, or Michigan? Contact us for a free consultation.
Rent Trends
The average rent in North End in 2020 was $657 monthly, although even then we saw 3-bed townhouses going for $1,800 a month on nicer blocks.
Now, the average rent in North End is $1,250, again nearly doubling since the last time we looked at the data 4 years ago. The good thing is, that means it’s still easy to find properties here that fit the 1% rule (monthly rent = 1% of purchase price + repairs).
Most of what’s on the market now are townhouses and condos, with 2-3 bedroom units going for $1,200-$1,600 a month, depending on the level of finishings.
For single-family units, there are only a few available, and they’re in high demand. A 3-4 bed detached house here typically rents for $1,800-$2,400 monthly.
Here’s a then-and-now snapshot of how the market has developed here since our last North End Deep Dive:
Considering rents in Detroit have only been increasing 1.7% YOY on average, and sale prices have increased by 20.7%, this shows pretty clearly how the North End neighborhood is outperforming a lot of other areas in the city.
Investment Opportunities in North End
Now, let’s look at some units currently on the market.
As of August 2024, Zillow shows just 17 properties for sale in North End:
There’s a mix of townhouses, newly-renovated properties, and single-family homes in need of serious renovations. We’ll take a closer look at these in a moment.
For now, let’s compare this to the rental market.
As of August 2024, there are only 39 rentals available in North End, and, as you can see from this Zillow map, all but 1 of them are west of Oakland Ave:
As you can see, most rentals here sit in the $1,200-$2,400 range. And again, most of them are west of Oakland Ave, leaving a lot of opportunity for investors who can develop properties on the other side of that line.
Now, let’s zoom in on a few of these properties and run the numbers.
Example Investment Property
Let’s take a look at two different properties on the market right now in the North End, to show you the type of rental investment opportunities here.
1. The Turnkey Option
The first is a basically-turnkey 4-bedroom house close to Oakland Ave in the northern part of North End:
With a Zestimate rental value of $1,615 monthly, this property already would fit the 1% rule for rental investors. But if you could get it for a lower price (note: the Zestimate sales price here is $138,700, so there could certainly be room for negotiation), that would push its ROI potential even higher, giving you an RTP ratio of 1.16%.
What would be really interesting, though, is to turn this into a duplex instead. By spending another $25k to convert this into a split-level duplex, you could rent each 2-bedroom unit for up to $1,200 a month (or more, depending on the level of finishings). That would give you rent-to-price ratio of:
Monthly Rent: $2,400
After-Repair Value: $180,000
RTP Ratio: 1.3%
And that’s assuming you pay full asking price for it. If you could get this for $138,700, it would look more like this:
Monthly Rent: $2,400
After-Repair Value: $180,000
RTP Ratio: 1.3%
Not bad, huh?
And that’s not even taking into account the appreciation you can expect by investing in a neighborhood that’s about to receive a major public transportation link.
1. The Fixer-Upper
Now, let’s look at a very different possibility.
If you’re unafraid of serious renovations, the North End has a lot of disused properties like this one, waiting to be snapped up for insanely cheap prices:
It’s rough, we know. A lot of properties in the North End, and Detroit as a whole, look like this. But the house immediately next door has just been recently refurbished, and this one is just begging to be the next in line.
So before you call us crazy, just look at this house for sale literally 3 doors down, on the same street:
Same location, same number of bedrooms, same lot size. 10x the price.
This just goes to show what’s possible if you’re willing to invest in an up-and-coming neighborhood BEFORE all of the other speculators find out about it.
The 650 Melbourne St. property above would require a lot of work to be viable, but its estimated monthly rent as a single-family home would be around $2,400, just like our first example property.
So (assuming you can negotiate a little on the asking price) let’s do the math and see if it’s worthwhile:
Monthly Rent: $2,400
Purchase Price: $30,000
Repair Costs: $125,000
After-Repair Value: $155,000
RTP Ratio: 1.55%
Again, that’s not factoring in the average property appreciation rate of 20%+ YOY in North End, and the fact that, when renovations were complete, this property would easily be valued at $300k+.
Area and Tenant Quality
Now that we’ve seen what’s on the market in the North End, let’s move on to a more qualitative analysis.
We’re going to look at:
- Housing Stock Quality
- Tenant Quality
- Area Development
- Crime & Safety
To give an overall view of the liveability of the area, and what kinds of tenants it attracts.
Housing Stock
Home ownership rates are fairly low here (30%), although the City of Detroit is trying to make it easier for residents to buy, renovate, and build new homes, so those numbers will probably shift in the coming years.
There are also quite a few vacant lots still in the North End, but the strong community here works hard to maintain the area. Many of these lots have been turned into public-run cityscape gardens, and the homes which are occupied are largely newly-renovated, with well-kept yards.
In terms of housing stock, the majority of homes here were built around 1910. As you’ve seen from the example investment properties above, some of them are updated and ready to move in, and others are, well… Not.
If you plan to purchase and renovate a property in the North End, keep an eye out for age-related issues that could push your expenses up, like:
- Outdated wiring
- Outdated plumbing
- Structural issues
That way, you can budget accordingly.
Tenant Stock
The property is the most important thing. But let’s turn to the second most important factor in determining the success of your rental business: Tenants.
So, what kind of tenants can you expect in the North End, vs. the rest of Detroit?
Here’s a snapshot:
In the past, a lot of the tenants here were students from Wayne State University (Class C), but that demographic is quickly shifting towards young tech professionals (Class A).
Ford’s 30-acre, $1B new AV campus is just 10 minutes’ drive from North End, and with the QLINE expansion, commuting to Corktown and Downtown will be even faster and easier for tenants without a car.
In summary, this is a Class C area that’s quickly trending upwards towards Class A, and it’s attracting more high-quality tenants at the same time, too.
Economic Development
Detroit as a whole is seeing a huge resurgence right now. Billions of dollars of investment is coming in, businesses are moving in , and areas like Corktown are experiencing a property price bubble that’s extending to neighboring parts of the city.
But there are also several economic development projects of note taking place in the North End in 2024:
The North End Neighborhood Framework Vision
This public initiative (beginning in 2024) aims to improve the neighborhood by focusing on 5 key areas:
- Preserving the area’s cultural heritage
- Creating more parks and open spaces
- Improving housing and neighborhoods
- Making more pedestrian-friendly zones
- Supporting local businesses and commercial zones
You can check out the City of Detroit’s full plan here for a detailed breakdown of how they plan to do this (skip to page 148 for the implementation steps). But similar projects in Detroit’s Fashion Ave and nearby Ferndale have already proven a big success in revitalizing local neighborhoods.
The Beauton Development
In July 2023, construction began on a new mixed-use residential development in the North End, with a total investment of $7.3M, and the units are nearly ready for move-in.
Mayor of Detroit, Mike Duggan, said of the project: “North End has been seeing a lot of new investment and that can bring with it rent pressures for existing residents… The Beauton will bring 29 more units of much needed affordable housing to North End to help make sure residents of all income levels are able to live in a growing and thriving neighborhood.”
The M1 Penske Tech Center
The Penske Tech Center for the M1 Rail on Woodward Avenue is a recent $6.9 million dollar investment from one of America’s biggest companies.
Investments like this ultimately made the QLINE happen, which stretches from Downtown to Grant Blvd and will soon be expanded to meet the growing demand from residents and businesses in North End.
All of this just goes to show that prices won’t remain affordable here for long, so anyone looking to invest should do so sooner rather than later.
Crime and Safety
Overall, crime rate in the North End is fairly consistent with the rest of Detroit.
According to Niche.com, most residents give it positive reviews and have “no complaints” after living here all of their lives.
With that being said, this is a very block-by-block neighborhood, so it’s important to select a location carefully when investing here. We recommend staying east of Oakland Ave, as the further west you go towards Highland Park and Piety Hill, there are more vacant lots and run-down buildings.
Investment Report Card
Now let’s add all of this up and see how the North End performs.
We’ve created this standardized Report Card for each neighborhood, so you can understand how we evaluate and determine the overall score we give to each area:
The North End can be summed up in one word when it comes to rental investing:
Potential.
Why we recommend it for buy-and-hold investors:
- Prices and rents consistently rising – strong for both appreciation and cashflow
- Tenant demographics trending upwards
- The next area to be affected by the “Corktown Bubble”
- QLINE expansion set to drive property prices up even further
In short, this is one of the fastest-developing areas of Detroit, but you need to know where to buy.
People often talk about buying in a “good zipcode,” but we try to steer clear of that when advising landlords where to invest in Detroit. That’s because zipcodes can be misleading here. Within a single zipcode you have some good streets, and some not-so-good streets.
That’s why we’re here, to break it down block by block for investors – especially those who are from out of state, or aren’t as familiar with Detroit’s up-and-coming neighborhoods.
So our overall opinion is this:
This is an excellent place for landlords to invest… As long as you buy on the right street!
Stay tuned for our upcoming Deep Dives into other Detroit neighborhoods. If you have a specific area in mind, leave a comment, and we’ll be sure to cover it in one of our next installments.
Want to explore investment properties in the North End? Contact us for a list of our available units.