YAY! We're 2nd to last now!
Somehow "2nd to last" doesn't seem to have quite the same distinction as Dead-ass last. 
As for Michigan our problem is pretty straight-forward: People are leaving because there are not enough new jobs here to replace those lost in the auto industry.
Houses are not selling because there is no one to buy them. There are about 5 in our neighborhood that have been for sale for at least 6 months. Even though the prices are low compared to other states, there just aren't many buyers.
Michiganders have been stupid and thought we'd be able to lean on the auto industry forever - eventually all cities will wind up like Ecorse and Lincoln Park - where once booming blue collar worker-filled cities are turning into gang ridden slums. Houses go from great to being stripped of piping to boarded up and condemned (I forget where you live - but all these cities are metro-Detroit). It's sad - especially Linoln Park (my home town) - I see it going down and the south side of the city is scrambling to stop the degeneration from the north.
I know in NC we are having the problem of finding places to build the house for the people coming in. Then when we do build the house the school get over populated and have to be more schools to help out. Then they build more house and more people come and the new school get over populated as well.
