New Metro Detroit homes are hot properties, once again

While the heady days of '06 and '07 seem long-buried, Detroit's housing market is rising from the dead. The Wall Street Journal reports on a real comeback -- bidding wars! -- in the metro area's new construction market.

Excerpt:
"Low interest rates and improving economic conditions are persuading people like Jerold Hawkins to take the plunge. Mr. Hawkins, a software developer for the auto industry, and his wife, Katherine, a nurse, recently agreed to buy a new five-bedroom home in Rochester Hills, Mich., for $289,900. "I now have a really good job and so does my wife," Mr. Hawkins says.

The auto industry's recovery has spurred demand for new homes in the $180,000 to $500,000 price range in the Detroit area, says Dan Elsea, president of brokerage Real Estate One in Detroit. In the choicest neighborhoods, even homes built without a ready buyer often sell long before completion and with multiple offers, he says."

Get the full story here.