Open thread: How would you sum up the Detroit real estate market?

Welcome to Friday Open Threads, wherein we'll pass the mic to readers to speak up about topics of interest, distress, horror, and more. Have something you want discussed? Let us know. This week’s topic: How do we even start to describe this market?

We love this city, but this real estate market is bonkers. Detroit used to be the story of the $500 house. While you can get a Land Bank house at auction for a starting bid of $1,000 now, you need to be ready to rehab it—and have the funds—at the start.

We’re seeing a lot of houses this year list for way more than we thought, especially in Islandview and Hubbard Farms—and they’re selling.

Meanwhile, mansions in Boston Edison are listing and selling for over $1 million, and we’re starting to see more and more homes rehabbed between New Center and Boston-Edison and north in the Fitzgerald and Bagley neighborhoods. The prices vary widely, making it difficult for many to find an actual starter home and mortgage.

It’s a city of contradictions, with lofts and condos in a few places commanding top dollar, and many neighborhoods in the city struggling with the foreclosure crisis and vacant homes.

With all that said, we have a wild task for this week’s open thread. We know we have a lot of readers in other cities who are curious about the market here. Some in the city would say certain areas (Lafayette Park) are nearing a bubble, while others might say that’s just not going to happen.

Let’s get creative. How would you sum up the Detroit real estate market in one sentence?

Let us know in the comments below.