Investment Summary:
This sits on one of our focal concentrated areas, very close to our other successful acquisitions such as 16725 Murray Hill, 18239 St. Marys, and 18951 Lauder.
18445 Steel also outperformed all of our original underwriting expectations.
The property was purchased on 2025-02-19, and was leased up by 2025-06-25, in 4 months, at half the rate of the 6 to 9 months underwritten for all of our vacant acquisitions. Upon repair completion, the property was given 30% equity growth by our conservative standards. Zillow has given more, with its Zestimate of $143,000 as of September 2025, suggesting a 65% increase over the project’s actual total budget. The final CapEx came in lower than originally underwritten, at $22,545. The rent projection of $1,250 was also easily surpassed at $1,320.
Its simple Return on Capital, or Cash on Cash expectations for the first year, is projected to be over 13% (unadjusted for a tax hike to follow ownership change).
Property Overview
Address: 18445 Steel St, Detroit, MI 48235
- Purchase Price: $60,000
- Estimated After Repair Value (ARV): $110,000
- Original CapEx (Capital Expenditure): $25,000
- Projected Rent: $1,250/month
- Square Footage: 921 sqft
- Year Built: 1940
- Lot Size: 40 x 120ft
- Property Taxes (2024): $2,442.54
- Zoning: R1 (Residential)
Neighborhood Analysis
- Location: Schulze neighborhood
- Fantastic location close to all the amenities such as the city’s Northwest Activities Center (2 mins), DMC Sinai Grace Hospital (6 mins), and Home Depot on Meyers (2 mins). Its proximity to the 8 Mile Road allows numerous supermarket choices such as Aldi, Kroger and Meijer, all within less than 10 minutes’ drive.
- Sits on a quiet, mostly brick street
- Market Insights: The Zillow Home Values Index shows the zip code’s average home price was over $96,000, with an above-20% premium on the overall Detroit Market. the area also appreciated over 3.5% YOY as of September 2025
Comparable Sales
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18987 APPOLINE Street Detroit, MI 48235-1318, sold for $175,000 on May 10, 2024, needs adjustments for size difference. $136 per sqft would bring Subject Property’s value at $125,000.
Final Takeaways
Recent years have seen Detroit blossom, with a significant drop in crime rates and steady equity growth in the billions for its homes. The once-notorious Detroit Fire Department now boasts a response time faster than the national average.
National brands have also taken part in this resurgence.
Home Depot opened its first Detroit branch on Meyers Road, just six minutes from this property.
Meijer followed with its first Detroit store in 2013, and the Grand River location — only seven minutes away — now serves this neighborhood.
Most recently, in 2024, Costco opened its Business Center near 8 Mile and Southfield, catering to both local businesses and consumers with bulk purchasing needs. 11 minutes from Subject Property.
National brand-name leaders conduct deep market research before opening, so their expansion strategy is an important signal to track for the housing industry.
Through our single-family rental (SFR) series of acquisitions — 22 properties in the first few months of operations — we have been able to repeatedly reconfirm our read on the market.
This disciplined approach has naturally concentrated our portfolio in neighborhoods that demonstrate both strong rental demand and clear signs of appreciation. The acquisition of 18445 Steel, together with neighboring properties, has given us renewed conviction about where the market is heading — and where we will continue to deploy capital.