Michigan is mired in a foreclosure crisis that kicked off in the early part of the 2000s, leading to a 47% increase in vacant property, the Community Research Institute said Friday.
The organization, which analyzes neighborhood and regional data to assist Michigan leaders and nonprofits, painted a dire picture of a state stuck with high job losses, heavy foreclosures and a sense of helplessness when it comes to healing the local economy.
Phase one of Michigan’s foreclosure crisis started in 2005 to 2008 as unemployment rates in the region hit 7% to 8%. Subprime lending and predatory lending products also became readily available in the state during those years.
The institute says the second part of the Michigan’s problems hit in 2008 as the credit crisis and troubles in the auto industry slowed the local economies further.
The state lost $63 billion in housing value between 2006 and 2010, as values in Detroit and Grand Rapids, the largest metro areas in the state, exceeded 40%, the report added.
From 2005 to 2010, more than 416,000 residential units across Michigan faced a foreclosure filing.
Highlighting the friction in the state’s housing market, the study noted that in 2008, the number of auction filings for the year was greater than the number of sales.
