A new report found the Detroit Land Bank Authority has generated $2 billion in home value since 2014, concluding that the quasi-government agency has delivered positive results while city officials decide its future.
Griswold Consulting Group conducted the economic impact study at the land bank’s request, which found that increases in property values for homeowners surrounding sites that are demolished or rehabilitated by the land bank is a “critical component” of its work.
The report shows that each blighted property that was rehabilitated into an occupied house had roughly triple the impact on property values compared to each blighted home demolished.
“This data really validates so much of our mission, because our goal is really to save homes and invest in neighborhoods,” said Rob Linn, director of planning for the land bank. “We always tell people that we have an intentional bias towards erring on the side of saving homes. We really only tear homes down there beyond being saved.”
The land bank is Detroit’s largest property owner and is tasked with managing a vast portfolio of vacant and abandoned property in virtually every neighborhood. It has roughly 66,000 parcels in its inventory, and vacant lots represent most of the property. Roughly 6,000 land bank properties are structures.
Detroit’s City Council renewed a one-year operating agreement with the land bank after spending much of 2025 considering significant changes proposed by Council Member Mary Waters. Amendments she introduced this year will be reconsidered in 2026.
The land bank is granted unique powers under state law, allowing it to clear titles quickly, eliminate liens and past claims and hold property without paying taxes. Those powers are partly why CEO Tammy Daniels and outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan have advocated for the agency’s survival.
Economist Nigel Griswold said land bank activity is estimated to account for up to 40% of Detroit’s citywide home value growth over the past decade. The latest report independently affirms a University of Michigan report from last year that found $3 billion in property value was added since 2014.
Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield has publicly considered rolling some functions of the land bank under the city’s housing department. As a council member, she sought clearer processes and improved customer service from the land bank in response to resident complaints. The land bank targeted improvements to its purchasing processes and community engagement among its goals in its new five-year strategic plan.
“My position, for those who are asking, is not to dismantle the land bank, but to make major reforms,” Sheffield said during an August campaign event. “They have a lot of legal rights and authorities that the city does not have, that we can utilize them for. I do agree with most Detroiters that it is extremely difficult to work with the land bank, they oftentimes seem unfair in their practices.”
Duggan said he expects his successor will “figure out the right balance” of improving land bank operations while ensuring its impact continues. Sheffield will have increased power over the agency compared to her time on the council — the mayor is responsible for appointing four of five members of the land bank’s board.
“Before I was mayor, if you wanted a side lot, you needed an act of the City Council,” Duggan said during a Dec. 8 interview. “They got maybe 100 done a year to politically-connected people. Now we’ve sold 30,000 side lots to neighbors (for) $100. I don’t think you’d ever want to go back to the old bureaucracy.”
There were 12,816 rehabilitations completed since 2014, which generated nearly $1.2 billion in economic impact for homes within 500 feet.
The land bank completed 29,065 demolitions since 2014, which generated $875 million in economic impact for nearby homes.
Each rehabilitation triggered an average home value increase of $90,890 since 2014 while each demolition sparked an average home value increase of $30,092.
However, those estimates are considered extremely conservative due to methodological constraints. New methodology used to analyze a portion of properties suggested the average increase triggered by rehabilitation is closer to $145,979 and demolition is closer to $78,634.
City Council District 3 had the most demolitions since 2014, a total of 6,041. District 5 experienced the largest increase in property values; the report found $152 million in economic impact from 3,660 demolitions.
A similar trend emerged for home rehabilitation. District 3 had 2,505 rehabilitations that created $158 million in property value while District 5 was home to 1,577 demolitions that created $236 million in property value.
Griswold noted that 2,800 rehabilitations are currently underway, which could add $600 million more in property value.
“Property taxes are continuously growing as a result of the land bank’s activities,” he said. “To me, that’s a big deal.”
The report also found 1,173 houses rehabilitated since 2014, 8% of the total, slipped back into tax delinquency or foreclosure. Those properties represent roughly $140 million in unrealized economic impact, but Griswold said it’s a very low rate that people should take note of.
The report says there’s an opportunity to focus policy solutions on properties that slip back into distress.
“It is highly recommended that some land bank programming and investment be targeted at triaging this issue – either with demolition where markets aren’t ready, or protection of small investors to complete their projects, or holding back into DLBA inventory for future use,” the report states.