Foreclosure activity in the Twin Cities metro took a healthy dip during February, but mortgage woes remain a serious problem. CoreLogic said that the foreclosures rate in the metro was 1.15 percent for the month, a decline of 0.82 percentage points compared with last year when the rate was 1.97 percent. That’s well below the national rate of 2.85 percent. Delinquencies - loans that were 90 days or more late and an indicator of future foreclosures - also declined, falling 1.06 percentage points to 3.65 percent of all mortgages compared with 6.2 percent nationally.

Foreclosures have been falling slowly, but steadily as rising home prices lift homeowners out negativy equity, and improvements in the economy make it easier for people to keep up on their payments. Already, foreclosure listings in the Twin Cities metro have fallen dramatically, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, which said that the number of lender-owned listings that hit the market during March was down nearly 30 percent.

CoreLogic, by the way, was the subject of big news this week. The company announced this week that it had acquired Case-Shiller, the group that produces the oft-watched Case-Shiller Home Price Index. No changes are expected.

Whenever I hear about projects like Track 29 Apartments in Minneapolis, I begin to think that home ownership may be overblown.

The 198-unit apartment project, located at 2841 Bryant Ave. S., adjacent to the Midtown Greenway, is now pre-leasing alcoves, one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus a den, two-bedrooms, two-bedrooms plus a den, and "New York-style" two-story duplexes. Space ranges from 572 square feet to 1,493 square feet, and rents range from $1,310 to $2,980 a month. (The leasing office for now is at West 28th Street and Lyndale Avenue South .)

The $41 million project was developed by locally based RMF Group and Loren Brueggemann of Phoenix Development Co., and has a number of features, including a "Saltwater Natatorium,:" a saltwater lap pool with a sphagnum moss filter system, a rooftop terrace and "Vitamin D" deck, a Zen garden, an art gallery, a heated dog park, bike storage and workshop, a fitness center and a public art drinking fountain that can be used by residents and Greenway users alike.

Developer Ross Fefercorn also notes various environmentally friendly amenities, including dual flush toilets, electric-car charging areas and a green roof over the parking garage (there's 237 underground heated parking stalls, too).

Phase one opens this July with a second phase opening in September. The site is also the location of 27 townhomes previously developed by Fefercorn.

Janet Moore covers commercial real estate for the Star Tribune.
 

Freddie Mac said today that average fixed mortgage rates declined for the fourth consecutive week with the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage at a new all-time record low of 2.61 percent. The 5-year adjustable rate average also fell to a new low of 2.58 percent. Here's the latest from Freddie Mac (Remember, these are national averages for the week ending April 25, 2013):

• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.40 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.41 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.88 percent.

• 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.61 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.64 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.12 percent.
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.58 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.60 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.85 percent.
• 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.62 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.63 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.74 percent.

The rendering of the winning entry.

Few cities of our size likely have a wide swath of undeveloped land smack dab in its center core.

But we do, and it’s on the eastern side of downtown Minneapolis by the Metrodome. (Several blocks are owned by the Star Tribune.) For architects and urban planners, this is akin to a blank canvas for creative development ideas.

Recently, the Urban Land Institute chose “Downtown East” as the subject of its annual Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. Open to multidisciplinary teams of graduate students, the idea is to craft a long-term development plan that “creates value for property owners, city residents and the greater Twin Cities region.”

The competition was based on a hypothetical scenario in which two property owners evaluate the benefits and financial possibilities of enjoining their two parcels. The city provides an incentive to redevelop the site with public parking, affordable housing and a connection between with Elliot Park and the Mill District. In the middle of it all, of course, is a billion-dollar Vikings stadium.

The winner was a joint team of graduate students from Kansas State University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Kansas. Called “The Armory,” the plan works off the historic site on Fifth Street, integrating it with the skyway system, an underground parking ramp and a “distinct retail experience.

The three other finalists were from Ball University/Purdue University; Harvard University and Yale University.The grand prize was $50,000.

Janet Moore covers commercial real estate for the Star Tribune.

CBRE Capital Markets has arranged new or supplemental financing on three big commercial real estate projects around the Twin Cities, including the Excelsior Bay Harbor project in the western Twin Cities suburb.

Supplemental financing totalling about $2 million was arranged for the 10,000-square-foot office property located on Lake Minnetonka through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. An existing restaurant was demolished to make way for the new offices, which accompanies an existing office building and a marina. 

CBRE also arranged $9.9 million in new financing for Cobblestone Court, a 127,000-square-foot retail property in Burnsville through its relationship with Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings Inc. The shopping center includes a TJMaxx store, plus several smaller stores.

In addition, CBRE arranged for $3.1 million in new financing for Raspberry Woods Townhomes, a 64-unit rental property in Hopkins. This was done through its relationship with Lincoln Financial Group.

All of the deals were put together by Murray Kornberg, senior vice president, and Doug Seylar, senior vice president/managing director, both from CBRE's Minneapolis office.

Janet Moore covers commercial real estate for the Star Tribune.