Flint, Detroit: Worst Real-Estate Markets

The implosion of the car industry has led Flint, Michigan, and neighboring Detroit to be declared the top two worst real-estate markets in the U.S., according to 24/7 Wall Street. The website calculated the worst markets by calculating the cities with the greatest median price cuts in June, a difficult time to sell after Congress failed to renew the homebuyer tax credit in April. Flint has seen a 12 percent median price cut, 31 percent of its listings have price cuts, and the city has a 15 percent unemployment rate overall. Its car-manufacturing neighbor, Detroit, is rated the second-worst real-estate market, with 28 percent of listings with price cuts, a 11 percent median price cut, and 14 percent unemployment. The other cities rounding out the tanked real-estate markets: Merced, El Centro, Santa Cruz, and Bakersfield in California, and Ocala, Vero Beach, Lakeland, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale in Florida.