Picture Detroit, and blocks of foreclosed and abandoned homes may come to mind. But think again: While the “Motor City” days are far from returning, this city’s real estate market is showing signs of recovery.

In August, the Detroit metropolitan area occupied fifth place in Realtor.com’s “Market Hotness Index.” Published monthly, this index gauges the health of the real estate market in the country’s largest 300 metropolitan areas (as measured by the number of households).