Current Issue
The Minnesota housing market continues to show distress through Q209 as delinquencies, foreclosures and unemployment continues to climb, according to a report from the Minnesota Housing Partnership.
The amount of 60-plus day delinquencies surged in the quarter, gaining 7% from the first quarter of the year – following a continuous upward trend for the past three years, according to the report.
Even renters felt the shake of the current foreclosure crisis. With unemployment hovering around 8% in the state, a rate not held through any three-month period since 1983, vacancy rates grew and rent prices shrank. The average vacancy rate climbed to 6%, the highest since 2005. A 5% vacancy rate is considered “balanced,” according to the report.
The inventory of homes for sale in Minnesota bumped up in Q209. Foreclosed and short sale homes made up 27% of the inventory in June 2009.
Foreclosures jumped by 15% from the previous quarter. The volume reached 5,932 from 5,157 in the previous quarter. The majority of the increase came from the Twin Cities metro area. An array of moratoria from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, foreclosure postponements from lenders and state legislation kept foreclosure levels below the expected amount, according to the report.
Write to Jon Prior.
