Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With 8,943 people, 3,867 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $93,833, house prices in Benton Harbor are some of the most affordable in Michigan as well as the nation.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Benton Harbor, accounting for 73.46% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Benton Harbor include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 18.07%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 7.62%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Benton Harbor are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 36.32% owning and 63.68% renting.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Benton Harbor's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 35.47% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Benton Harbor include homes built before 1939 ( 28.29%) and housing constructed between 1970-1999 ( 22.12%). There's also some housing in Benton Harbor built between 2000 and later ( 14.12%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Benton Harbor. Fully 14.39% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Benton Harbor homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Benton Harbor real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Benton Harbor's appreciation rate notably has been below the national average for the last ten years. The average annual home appreciation rate in Benton Harbor during the period has been just 5.59%, which is lower than 70% of US communities.
Over the last year, Benton Harbor appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Benton Harbor's appreciation rate has been -1.37%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Benton Harbor were at 4.27%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 18.20%.
Importantly, this makes Benton Harbor one of the highest appreciating communities in the nation for the latest quarter, and may signal the city's near-future real estate investment strength.
Relative to Michigan, our data show that Benton Harbor's latest annual appreciation rate is lower than 90% of the other cities and towns in Michigan.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Benton Harbor differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Benton Harbor - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Benton Harbor real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$93,833
for Michigan
for nation
3,867
$1,685 / per month