A relatively positive report on Twin Cities-area foreclosures this morning. CoreLogic said that foreclosure rates in the Twin Cities metro rose only .01 percentage points from 2.02 percent in July of 2010 to 2.03 percent for July 2011. Though foreclosure sales in the Twin Cities represent a much higher percentage of all sales than the rest of the nation, foreclosure activity in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is signficantly lower than the national foreclosure rate 3.44 percent.
If the Twin Cities foreclosure rate is below the national average, why such a high share of distressed sales? The most common theory is that the Twin Cities entered the downturn ahead of the nation, so foreclosures started entering the system more quickly, leading to a higher percentage of distressed listings. There's also a theory that investors have more cash and confidence in this market than in many others, creating stronger demand for deals.
The CoreLogic report also said that the mortgage delinquency rate for July 2011 fell to 5.04 percent from 5.66 percent last year. That number represents all mortgage loans that were 90 days or more delinquent. There's some concern that those declines are the result of processing delays and that there could be another empolyment-related burst of delinquencies in the coming months. The extent or likelihood of such a problem is unknown.
Also Tuesday: Zillow.com said that from July to August its Twin Cities-area "zestimate" fell .24 percent to $159,567. Nationally, the website said, home values fell .09 percent on a month-over-month basis to $172,632. The report said that Minneapolis metro home values have fallen 35.4 percent since peaking in July 2006. National home values have fallen 28.3 percent since their peak in June 2006.
