Empty residences in Michigan grew by 210,000 since 2000

Ron French and Mike Wilkinson / / The Detroit News

The recession, high unemployment and the foreclosure crisis turned tens of thousands of Metro Detroit homeowners into renters, with far-reaching implications for schools, the economy and neighborhood stability.

New 2010 census data released today reveal a steep decline in home ownership, with 40,000 fewer owner-occupied homes in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties than 10 years earlier.

Almost all communities suffered a decrease in home ownership, with the biggest losses in inner-ring suburbs, such as Oak Park [[14.2 percentage points), Harper Woods [[11 percentage points), Hazel Park [[9.1 percentage points) and Dearborn Heights [[7.4 percentage points).

The data reflect the hard reality Metro Detroiters have faced in recent years, as the state struggled through an almost decade-long recession.
Thousands lost their homes to foreclosure and, unable to get loans, turned to rentals. Thousands more were saddled with homes they couldn't sell when the housing bubble burst and turned their houses into rentals.

"It was the American Dream to own a home," said James Malott, 55, of Whitmore Lake. "Then everything fell apart, and it turned into a nightmare."