Metro Detroit’s housing market continues to struggle, according to two reports out Monday.
First, area home sales were down 15.5% in November, compared with a year ago, when federal homebuyer tax credits spurred sales to record levels.
And more metro Detroit homes were underwater in the third quarter, according to CoreLogic data. There were 124,429 properties with mortgages in negative equity, or 46.3%, in the three months that ended Sept. 30. That compares with 123,320, or 44.36% properties in negative equity, in the third quarter of 2009.
Negative equity means that borrowers owe more on their mortgages than the homes are worth.
Michigan had 38% of its mortgaged properties underwater in the third quarter, ranking it fourth nationwide, behind Nevada, Arizona and Florida.
There were 3,876 sales of homes and condominiums in metro Detroit last month, compared with 4,587 sales in November 2009, according to data released Monday by Realcomp, the multiple listing service in Farmington Hills.
Although sales were down from last year, they were still higher than November sales in 2004 to 2008, Realcomp said.
Here’s a breakdown of home sales and median sales prices in November:
• Livingston County: down 9.6%, to 189 from 209. Median price was $125,000, down 3.5% from $129,500.
• Macomb County: down 16.1%, to 764 from 911. Median price fell 12.6%, to $69,950 from $80,000.
• Oakland County: down 11.4%, to 1,316 from 1,486. Median price down 8.6%, to $106,450 from $116,500.
• Wayne County: down 18.9%, to 1,607 from 1,981. Median price up 14%, to $39,900 from $35,000.
And sales in the city of Detroit fell by 41%, to 458 from 777. But the median sales price in the city rose 37.5%, to $11,000 from $8,000.