The serious mortgage delinquency rate in the 100 largest metropolitan areas has slowed a bit from 10.4% at its peak in December 2009 to 9.3% in June 2011, according to data from Foreclosure-Response.org.
The rate looks at the share of loans in foreclosure plus the share of loans delinquent for 90 or more days. The decline has been driven by a decrease in delinquent loans, which dropped from 5.5% in December 2009 to 3.7% in June 2011.
The average foreclosure rate has been steady at 5.5% over the three quarters ending in June.
The foreclosure rate decreased the most in Riverside, Calif. and Stockton, Calif., down 1.9 percentage points and 1.7 percentage points, respectively, from the peak in December 2009.
The Florida, New York, and Illinois metros experienced steadily rising foreclosure rates, climbing, for instance, 2.8 percentage points in Tampa, 2.3 percentage points in Chicago, and 2.1 percentage points in New York City between December 2009 and June 2011.
Those three states require judicial foreclosure proceedings, in which a court must make the final decision about whether a property can exit foreclosure - a process that can create a significant backlog of foreclosures.
