home sales

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.

Detroit home sale prices continue to improve

Steve Carmody — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:38:40 +0000

Detroit’s real estate market posted some of the strongest price gains in the nation in 2012.

The just released S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index charts home sale prices in the nation’s twenty largest cities.

Detroit home sale prices rose more than 13 percent last year, the third highest percentage increase in the survey.

Craig Lazzara is the head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices. He compiled the report. Lazzara says, despite the rise in prices, homes in Detroit are still selling for about what they did in 1997.

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.

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.

Michigan's falling home foreclosure rate may reach a milestone soon

Steve Carmody — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:01:01 +0000

Michigan’s home foreclosure rate could soon reach a milestone.

A few years ago the state's foreclosure rate was near the top of the fifty state list.

But Daren Bloomquist with Realty Trac says the latest data shows Michigan is poised to drop out of the top ten, possibly by the end of the year.

"It’s still in that top ten…but it’s moving down," says Bloomquist, "(Michigan) had often been showing up in the top five over the last few years….now it’s moved down to number nine in September.”

Foreclosure numbers tumble again in Michigan (but a September spike is possible)

Steve Carmody — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Michigan’s home foreclosure rate continues to trend lower, but a spike in foreclosure filings may be coming this month.

August marked 22 straight months that Michigan’s year over year foreclosure numbers declined.

In fact, the number of foreclosure filings in Michigan in August fell 41 percent compared to August a year ago. Also, none of the 20 U.S. cities with the highest home foreclosure rates are located in Michigan.

But Daren Bloomquist with Realty Trac says there are signs that the trend may soon end.

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.

Michigan's home foreclosure rate declines for 19th straight month

Steve Carmody — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Michigan’s home foreclosure rate continues to fall dramatically.

Realty Trac reports today foreclosure filings in Michigan fell another 6% last month and are down more than 40% compared to a year ago.

“We’re getting close to now 2 years of a long-term downward trend in Michigan foreclosure activity,” says Daren Bloomquist, who is a Realty Trac vice president.

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.

Fannie and Freddie might have to cough up millions to Michigan

Mark Brush — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:05:55 +0000

Oakland County Treasurer Andrew Meisner filed a lawsuit against federally backed mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last year.

He claimed they were dodging taxes.

And he won.

The result could mean millions of dollars in revenue - provided the case wins an expected appeal from the mortgage companies.

It's an appeal that's expected since other counties and states around the country are watching this case, and would love to line up and take their share of tax revenue from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

So what taxes are they dodging?

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.