Foreclosure rate in area is lower than national average

Foreclosure rates in the Brownsville-Harlingen area increased in August over the same period last year, according to First American CoreLogic, a California-based mortgage tracking company.

Recent data shows the rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans is 1 percent for the month of August, an increase of 0.30 percentage points compared to the same month last year.

The number of outstanding foreclosures - including new and existing filings - for August of this year is 296.

Foreclosure activity in the Brownsville-Harlingen area is lower than the national foreclosure rate of 4.4 percent for August.

Also, the area's mortgage delinquency rate has increased to 3.90 percent in August 2008 compared to 3.20 percent for the same period last year.

Foreclosure data is reported based on the actual number of active mortgage loans rather than the total number of households in a given area.

Although foreclosures have increased, home prices and the number of home sales of single-family homes have declined.

Home prices in the Brownsville-Harlingen area decreased in August by .63 percent compared to the same month last year.

The current median price of a home in the Brownsville-Harlingen area is $112,937. Nationally, home prices fell by 7.83 percent with a median price of $203,900.

Sales of single-family homes dropped by 55.63 percent in Brownsville-Harlingen in August compared to the same time last year.

There were 142 home sales reported for August, down from 320 for the same month last year. Nationally, sales have declined with transactions showing a 34 percent decrease across the country.