Good news for Portland home owners — both foreclosure rates and delinquencies fell in May. CoreLogic, an Irvine, Calif.-based real estate research firm, reports the Portland-area foreclosure rate fell to 2.39 percent in May, down 35 basis points from a year ago. The local foreclosure rate peaked at 2.77 percent in July 2011, before the Oregon Legislature passed a law designed to compel banks to work with troubled homeowners.

The national foreclosure rate was 2.61 percent in May.

In another good sign of a reviving economy, the mortgage delinquency rate declined in May as well. CoreLogic said 4.68 percent of Portland-area loans were 90 or more days delinquent, a sharp decrease from the 5.5 percent rate posted a year ago. The delinquency rate includes all loans that are 90 days delinquent, including those that are in foreclosure or have been foreclosed, aka bank-owned home.

*Wendy Culverwell-Portland Business Journal