Foreclosed Home Price in Oakland, Michigan Down to $60,000

The median price for a foreclosed home in Oakland County, Michigan has fallen to $60,000 in October from $65,000 during the same month last year, based on data from the Oakland County Equalization Division.

According to the division, total home foreclosures in the county are expected to be lower this year, but foreclosures over the past several months were still able to push down home prices.

Last year, there were 9,242 foreclosure actions filed, a record for the county. Over the past ten months, foreclosure filings dropped by about 2,000 compared to filings during the same ten-month period last year. But county officials still expect a total of about 8,000 filings this year.

Dave Hieber, head of Oakland County Equalization Division, said that the slight decrease in foreclosure filings indicates some positive developments, but the still high number of foreclosure homes being sold by banks at discounted prices has been putting downward pressure on home values.

Hieber explained that there are residential foreclosures even in good times, but the high level of foreclosures over the past few years has been causing a significant drop in tax revenues for the county and has been causing difficulties in the allocation of funds for fire and police services.

According to Hieber, the number of properties in foreclosed home lists needs to be cut down to about 1,000 or less so home prices can recover and the county can increase its tax collection.

Nevertheless, Hieber and housing analysts admit that foreclosures have one positive effect – the improvement of home affordability – which enables lower-income families to buy their own homes. Many investors however are snapping up foreclosure properties in bulk, putting more downward pressure on prices.

Because of increased home affordability, the number of foreclosed homes sold in October soared by 20 percent compared to the same month last year. The total number of non-foreclosed homes sold also increased by 39 percent, as their prices were pulled down by foreclosure sales prices.

All in all, sales for all types of homes in Oakland County in October increased by almost 31 percent, but all sales prices dropped substantially.

While the sales price median for a foreclosed home dropped from $65,000 in October last year to $60,000 in October this year, the sales price median for a non-foreclosed house dropped from $165,000 in October last year to $145,000 during the same month this year.