Foreclosed Home Listing Trend Moves Upward in Twin Cities
Foreclosed home listing inventories in the Twin Cities continue to grow as foreclosure actions continue to be filed in Saint Paul and Minneapolis courts.
During the 12-month period ended May this year, foreclosure filings soared by more than threefold to nearly 39,000, a significant increase from the total of 11,253 filings during the 12-month period ended May 2008.
In May, the pace of foreclosures increased to nearly two percent of all mortgages in the Twin Cities, an increase from the 1.1 percent share in May last year. Nationwide, the foreclosure pace is 2.5 percent of all mortgages.
Mortgage defaults in the Twin Cities also increased in May, with nearly 5 percent of all homeowners with mortgages in Saint Paul and Minneapolis behind in their monthly payments by three months or more. In May 2008, only 3.7 percent of mortgage borrowers were behind by at least 3 months.
Nationwide, 6.5 percent of all mortgage borrowers were behind in their monthly payments by three months or more.
In a national study of foreclosures and foreclosure cases in May, Minnesota was 23rd in the ranking of states according to foreclosure rates. With nearly 3,000 units in foreclosure filings in May, one housing unit out of 781 housing units in the state was hit with a foreclosure auction.
Of the nearly 3,000 foreclosure actions filed, nearly 1,900 were listed for trustee sales and nearly 1,100 were already in foreclosed home listing inventories.
Statewide, the foreclosure rate increased by nearly 23 percent compared to the foreclosure rate in May 2008.
Meanwhile, in an effort to solve problems arising from the soaring foreclosed home listing inventories in the Twin Cities, the city of Saint Paul has been preparing its $46-million funding application under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
Applications for the second round of NSP funding ends on July 17 so the city needs to submit its application documents to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development before the deadline.
In an announcement, Saint Paul said it will use the NSP money to acquire about 400 foreclosed home listing properties and then fix them for resale to lower-income families or operate them as rental properties. The city expects to get a response to its application in September.
Saint Paul officials said that the city has been spending approximately $3.8 million in monitoring and maintaining foreclosed home listing properties across the city.
