Foreclosure activity in Metro Detroit plunged in June and fell by double digits statewide for the first six months of the year, according to a report released today, a sign of a dark cloud that will hover next year over the housing market and economy.
Metro Detroit experienced a 33 percent decline in foreclosure filings in June.
Michigan saw a 24.5 percent drop in default notices, auction sales and bank repossessions, said RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., foreclosure tracking firm.
The state’s foreclosure activity for the first six months of this year sagged 22 percent, mirroring a national trend that has seen foreclosures decrease 29 percent in the first half.
RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio warned that the decline could signal worse times to come.
“Processing and procedural delays are pushing foreclosures further and further out — we estimate that as many as 1 million foreclosure actions (nationwide) that should have taken place in 2011 will now happen in 2012, or perhaps even later,” Saccacio said in a statement.
“This casts an ominous shadow over the housing market, where recovery is unlikely to happen until the current and forthcoming inventory of distressed properties can be whittled down to a manageable number.”
Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties all saw significant drops in foreclosure in June. Wayne experienced the largest decline at 39 percent.
“To a certain extent, Michigan is a microcosm of the current foreclosure situation,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac.
Louis Aguilar, The Detroit News
