50 Percent Unemployment in Detroit - Foreclosures & Jobs Still Linked

Who says jobs and real estate aren’t tied together?

According to a new study in the Detroit News, the city’s unemployment is actually closer to 50 percent than the government’s official 30 percent unemployment number. A new survey commissioned by the paper said that a full 100,000 people had become so discouraged that they simply gave up looking.

Imagine if half of the workers in your town simply couldn’t find work. What would happen to property values in your neighborhood?

In November, for the second month in a row, California, Florida, Illinois and Michigan accounted for 52 percent of all foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac’s latest data.

The good news is that Detroit’s existing home sales rose more than 22 percent in November, and median sales prices rose by 19.4 percent. The Detroit Free Press observed that for the first time in two years, sales of non-foreclosed homes were higher (3,357 units) than foreclosed homes (2,418 units).

The bad news? The median price of a home in Detroit was $18,500 in November, compared to $14,450 in November 2008.

No matter what else happens, jobs and real estate are tied together.

What are you seeing in your city? Are the unemployment numbers reflected in the foreclosures, as well?

Read the full story on Detroit's unemployment and foreclosure numbers at CBS MoneyWatch.