Through May 2008, Isabella County has foreclosed on 92 homes.

In 2007, the county foreclosed on a total of 198 homes and 121 in 2006.

Sharon Brown, Isabella County register of deeds, said the economy and unemployment rate are to blame.

Generally, Isabella County has escaped much of the economic downfall the state of Michigan and the rest of the United States has experienced.

However, the number of foreclosures in the state is increasing.

“The housing market in Isabella County is slow and it is a buyer’s market because of the foreclosures,” Brown said. “People have lost their jobs and some have just up and moved out of the area or the state.”

Kevin Keating, realtor for Coldwell Banker in Mount Pleasant, said it’s taking a lot longer for houses to sell because there are more homes to choose from.

“A buyer would choose from eight homes meeting their needs before,” Keating said. “Now, there might be 30 homes meeting their criteria.”

Keating said of 70 houses sold in Mount Pleasant and surrounding counties from January to May, the average price was $111,851. The median? $99,000.

This is down from the same time period in 2007, when the average cost was $145,818, and the median was $135,000.

“People are a little gun-shy about what they want to do,” Keating said. “Primarily, first-time buyers are not driving the market anymore.”

Carolyn Bennett, director of promotions and workforce development for Middle Michigan Development Corporation, said the area’s economy is healthy.

“The university and Soaring Eagle’s employment is pretty stable,” Bennett said. “A lot of this economy’s downturn has been auto-related, and our manufacturing plants in this area are not heavily automotive. We are diverse enough that we’ve been okay.”

According to the Middle Michigan Development Corporation, Isabella County’s April 2008 unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, which totaled 1,753 individuals. Meanwhile, the rest of the state’s rate was 6.9 percent rate in April, according to the Ann Arbor News.

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