Foreclosures rise as delinquent payments dip in Prov. metro

By Alex Kowalski
PBN Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE – The Providence-New Bedford-Fall River metropolitan area foreclosure rate rose 0.16 percentage points in December compared with the same period in 2011, CoreLogic said Wednesday.

The California-based real estate data firm reported a foreclosure rate of 2.81 percent for the metro area in December, up from 2.65 percent in December 2011; yet lower than the national rate of 2.96 percent.

As the foreclosure rate ticked up, the percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages dropped 0.26 percentage points in December compared with the period in 2011.

The Providence area 90-day delinquency rate fell to 7.29 percent in December, down from 7.55 percent the previous year.

Excluding Bristol County, Mass., Rhode Island’s foreclosure rate rose 0.31 percentage points year over year to 3 percent in December, marking another two-month consecutive increase from 2.95 percent in November.

The Rhode Island 90-day delinquency rate fared better, falling 0.23 percentage points in December to 7.41 percent.

The national foreclosure rate dropped 0.47 percentage points over the year in December to 2.96 percent. The national 90-day delinquency rate fell 0.88 percentage points year over year in December to 6.4 percent.