Foreclosures in B.R. up slightly in January, but remain well below U.S. average

According to a new report out this morning by CoreLogic, 2.42% of homes in the Baton Rouge metro area were in some stage of foreclosure in January. That’s up a mere 0.01 percentage points from December, but down 0.37 percentage points compared to January 2011. Local foreclosure activity remains well below the national average, while the state’s foreclosure rate continues to fall closer to Baton Rouge’s rate. The U.S. foreclosure rate fell by 0.17 percentage points in January, compared to the same month last year, but still remains at 3.43%, a full percentage point higher than Baton Rouge. Louisiana’s rate saw a year-over-year decline of 0.49 percentage points in January, bringing it down to 2.51%. Baton Rouge’s mortgage delinquency rate—that is, the percentage of home loans more than three months past due—also dipped in January to 5.79%, a decrease of 0.33 percentage points from the year previous but an increase of 0.04 points from December. Louisiana’s delinquency fell 0.39 points on the month to 6.36%, while the U.S. delinquency rate slipped 0.59 points to 7.24%.