CoreLogic said that the foreclosure rate in the Twin Cities metro area during June increased slightly compared with last year, but the number of homeowners who couldn't make their mortgage payment fell slightly. That's a good sign, because delinquencies eventually become foreclosures.

The CoreLogic report said that during the month the foreclosure rate stood at 2.06 percent, an increase of 0.10 percentage points compared with June 2010. The foreclosure rate nationwide was 3.46 percent . Also in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, the mortgage delinquency rate has decreased. During the same period 5.07 percent of all outstanding mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent compared to 5.72 percent last year.

These numbers are important because high levels of foreclosures are usually an indicator of downward pressure on home prices. Markets with high foreclosure rates also tend to see big declines in sale prices. And while the Twin Cities has seen below-average foreclosure rates, price declines here have been among the steepest in the nation. That's happening in large part because the share of all sales that are foreclosures is slightly higher than the national average - upwards of 30 to 40 percent of all sales, some months. Experts speculate that the Twin Cities entered the foreclosure crisis slightly ahead of the country.