(WXYZ) — When we asked Detroit residents what they wanted to hear Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan talk about during his State of the City address, a popular answer was affordable housing.
We wanted to hear more from Detroit residents about this topic, so I went out to hear what they had to say.
Does the city have affordable housing? It depends on who you ask.
“Do you think there is enough affordable housing in the City of Detroit?” I asked Janet Moss, a Detroit resident.
“No I don’t and that’s because people with an income of $50,000 to $80,000, we are too high to be low and too low to be high," Moss said.
She's a retiree on a fixed income and said she's been struggling to find affordable places to live in the downtown area.
“Right now we’re being kind of pushed out. You have very few low-income or medium-income places. The rent is going steady up every month, every year," Moss said.
Kathy McCallum, who loves living in Brush Park, said she may have to move when she retires.
“Brush Park is becoming unaffordable at least for me but I feel blessed to be where I am," McCallum said. “That’s one thing I will be looking into in four to five years when I do retire, but as of now I can’t afford the rent I’m paying if I wasn’t working.”
I also spoke to Nickolas Huff, a Downtown Detroit resident who moved to the city from the Bay Area. He said that compared to California, housing in Detroit is a lot more affordable.
“You got options right depending on your budget and how big you need for living space. I think there are a ton of options down here," he said.
Meanwhile, Moss said she hopes she'll be able to continue living downtown.
“I like downtown, I grew up downtown and I prefer to stay in the downtown area," Moss said.
