home foreclosure

Fraudulent loan activity declines in Michigan

Steve Carmody — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:13:16 +0000

Fraudulent loan activity declined slightly in Michigan at the end of last year.

Kroll Factual Data checks loan applications for phony buyers, attempts to misrepresent the value of homes and other fraudulent information.

Kroll president Rod Bazzani says there's been a surge in home loan refinancing, which may explain the decline. He says refinancing more than doubled last year.

Michigan's home foreclosure rate closer to the national average

Steve Carmody — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:38:00 +0000

Michigan’s home foreclosure rate is no longer among the nation’s worst.

Realty Trac reports Michigan ranked 16th in the nation in home foreclosures in March. That is a far cry from a few years ago when the state had the nation’s highest foreclosure rate.

Mary Townley is with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. She credits the authority’s “Step Forward” program for providing assistance to people at risk of losing their homes…

There is growing optimism in Michigan's home building industry

Steve Carmody — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:37:50 +0000

Michigan’s home builders are optimistic about the year ahead.

The recession walloped Michigan’s home building industry. Many builders went out of business. Others merged and focused on home remodeling.

But a new survey shows Michigan’s home builders are optimistic about getting back into the business of building new homes. They say pent up consumer demand, especially for more expensive homes ($200,000 to $800,000), is pushing up the Michigan Housing Index.

Several local cities rank high on a list of the best places to rent out single family homes

Steve Carmody — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 04:14:00 +0000

A new report finds three regional cities are good places to buy and rent out single family homes.

A new Realty Trac survey lists Detroit, Saginaw and Toledo among the 20 best markets in the country to own and rent single family homes. Florida cities dominate the rest of the list.

The top 20 are based on the markets with the most potential cash flow and capitalization rates on a 3-bedroom home.

Michigan's home foreclosure rate closer to national average

Steve Carmody — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 05:07:00 +0000

Michigan is close to ending its role as a leader in home foreclosures.

At one time the state had the highest foreclosure rate in the country.

But after 27 straight months of declines, Michigan’s foreclosure rate is almost down to the national average.

Michigan's home foreclosure rate has "plummeted" during the past two years

Steve Carmody — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 05:13:00 +0000

Michigan’s home foreclosure rate has "plummeted" during the past 24 months, according to a new report.

According to Realty Trac, home foreclosure activity in Michigan dropped about 23 percent last year compared to 2011 and 43 percent compared to 2010.

Daren Bloomquist is with Realty Trac. He says Michigan still has one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation.

Michigan grants available for first-time homebuyers, refinancing too

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:33:36 +0000

First time homebuyers may be eligible for up to $5,000 in state grants. The grants are part of a settlement against the five largest mortgage servicers.

Pre-foreclosed homes selling briskly in Michigan

Steve Carmody — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:17:19 +0000

Michigan continues to see homes in the foreclosure process selling at a brisk rate.

About 24% of the homes sold in Michigan during the third quarter of the year (July-September) were in some stage of the foreclosure process.

Realty Trac reports that’s about 5% higher than the national average.

Georgia had the highest percentage of pre-foreclosure homes among residential sales at 38%.

8,000 Genesee County properties head to foreclosure

The Associated Press — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 20:14:56 +0000

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - With just three months remaining before winter tax payments are due and with about 8,000 parcels rolling toward tax foreclosure in April, Genesee County treasury officials are ramping up programs aimed at keeping people in their homes.

The county Land Bank already has 9,500 parcels of land to maintain after three straight years of at least 2,300 foreclosures. That's after selling 500 foreclosed parcels earlier this year.

Report: Detroit's home foreclosure rate is moving down

Steve Carmody — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 05:00:01 +0000

Detroit’s home foreclosure rates are dropping.

Realty Trac reports Detroit now has the 39th highest home foreclosure rate in the country. That's a big change from a few years ago, when Detroit routinely ranked in the top ten.

In September, Detroit’s home foreclosure rate was at its lowest point since September, 2006.

Daren Bloomquist is with Realty Trac. He says Detroit’s foreclosure numbers are improving, but he says more than half of Wayne County homeowners are ‘underwater” on their mortgages.

ACLU sues Morgan Stanley on behalf of 5 Detroit homeowners

Sarah Cwiek — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:06:38 +0000

The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Consumer Law Center and others have sued investment bank giant Morgan Stanley on behalf of five black Detroit homeowners.

Michigan's home foreclosure rate trends lower

Steve Carmody — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 10:44:22 +0000

Michigan’s falling home foreclosure rate reached a milestone last month.

But one analyst expects the second half of the year will see an uptick in homes being repossessed by banks.

Home foreclosures declining in Michigan

Steve Carmody — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Realty Trac is reporting today that Michigan’s home foreclosure rate is improving.

Foreclosure filings were down nearly 20% during the first three months of the year compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. The decline was even steeper compared to the same time a year ago.

Daren Bloomquist is with Realty Trac. He says nationally foreclosure numbers haven’t looked this good since before the recession started in 2008.

“I definitely think in Michigan…we’re passed the worst of this foreclosure problem… we’re on the downward slope," says Bloomquist, "But there’s just a few bumps I the road going forward before we completely… are out of the woods in terms of foreclosure in Michigan.”

Bloomquist expects there will be a spike in new home foreclosures in the second half of the year.

In this morning's news headlines...

Mark Brush — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:52:49 +0000

Detroit leaders not consenting to Snyder's consent decree plan

On Tuesday, Gov. Snyder and state treasurer Andy Dillon put forward a plan to rescue Detroit's finances. Almost immediately the plan was rejected by city leaders. They said the proposed plan would strip them of their power. "Why the hell would I sign it?" Bing said when appearing before a group of students yesterday.

Michigan's home foreclosure crisis easing

Steve Carmody — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Michigan’s home foreclosure rate continued to fall in February.

Realty Trac reports today that one in every 433 Michigan homes had a foreclosure notice filed against it in February.

That was an improvement over January (down 18%) and a big improvement compared to February a year ago (down 25%).

The better statewide numbers are mirrored in the Detroit market (down 17% from January-down 27% from February, 2011), which has long been the epicenter of Michigan’s foreclosure problems.