Urban Myth Detroit

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In Detroit fundamentals were replaced "by Belief".

Fundamental Real Estate Appraisal is done by Comparison, by Replacement and by Income. If you do the analysis you can form a snapshot opinion on market value. If you rely on belief, then good luck to you.

"As part of a reorganization plan agreed to with the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments, and the company's unions, General Motors filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in a Manhattan court in New York on June 1, 2009." It was the fourth-largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, following Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Washington Mutual and WorldCom Inc. (Wikipedia). Chrysler had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a month before on April 30, 2009.

Do you remember that in 2009, the internet was full of photos of rows upon rows of unsold Hummers? Crude Oil had peaked in July 2008 at $147 a barrel. Apparently GM management believed in super sizing cars.

Now Detroit is filing bankruptcy and it is by far the largest of its kind in U.S. history with respect to a city population of about 700,000 and the amount of its debts and liabilities, could be as high as $20 billion according to Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr on July 18th, 2013 (USA Today). 

Detroit is going to transform debt into equity. There are 2 ways. Pay it all back to the lenders, bond holders and claimants over time or do what Iceland did in 2008 and default. Since 1980, Argentina has defaulted three times on its domestic debt (Mises.org).

Myth "An unproved or false collective belief that is used to justify a social institution."

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