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Alabama rank: 36 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 3.7% Unemployment Rate 1.5% 6.9% year ago 3.7% 1.9% 7.4% year-over-year change -1.7% -21.7% -6.8% Top County MACon CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 5.5% 3.4% year ago 5.8% 2.2% year-over-year change -5.6% 56.7% Top Core-Based Statistical Area MoBile, Al 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 5.5% 3.4% year ago 5.8% 2.2% year-over-year change -5.6% 56.7% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. FROM THE BENCH Alabama Supreme Court Affirms MERS' Authority to Assign Mortgages The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling that upheld Fannie Mae's ejectment action judgment against defaulting borrowers whose homes were lost to foreclosure. Merscorp Holdings, Inc. explained in a recent announcement that the borrowers sought to set aside Fannie Mae's judgment, arguing that the foreclosure was invalid because Merscorp's subsidiary, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), was not authorized to assign the mortgage to the servicer, who also conveyed title to the property to Fannie Mae after the foreclosure sale. In the case Federal National Mortgage Association v. Steele, a five-justice panel recognized the ability of MERS to assign mortgages as the nominee of the lender and its successors and assigns. The court sided 66 with the lower court ruling without opinion, contending that MERS as the original mortgagee and MERS' execution of the assignment of the mortgage to the servicer does not cause the judgment in favor of Fannie Mae to be void. The borrowers also argued the court lacked jurisdiction to enter judgment in favor of Fannie Mae due to the effect of securitizing the mortgage. The court determined that the borrowers "offered no evidence of such securitization" and were not able to show any provision that would "prevent such a transaction." "In any event, even if the mortgage was securitized, the [borrowers] have not shown that this alleged securitization would void the foreclosure sale," Circuit Court Judge Eugene Verin wrote in the lower court ruling. MERS was not one of the parties in the lawsuit. rank: 39 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 1.9% Unemployment Rate 1.4% 7.9% year ago 2.8% 3.1% 8.4% year-over-year change -33.9% -56.1% -6.0% Top County SAnTA Cruz CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 2.6% 2.6% year ago 3.7% 4.0% year-over-year change -30.8% -34.9% Top Core-Based Statistical Area nogAleS, Az 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 2.6% KNOW THIS 2.6% year ago Distressed sales increased in Alabama to 18.7% of total home sales in April, compared to 14.8% a year earlier, according to CoreLogic. rank: 50 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 1.1% Unemployment Rate 0.7% 6.0% year ago 1.3% 1.0% 7.0% year-over-year change -8.9% 3.7% 4.0% year-over-year change -30.8% -34.9% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. IN THE NEWS Alaska -27.9% -14.3% Top County FAirbAnks norTh sTAr borough 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate April 2013 2.2% 1.2% year ago 1.9% 1.4% year-over-year change 18.2% -13.1% Top Core-based statistical Area FAirbAnks, Ak 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 2.2% 1.2% year ago 1.9% 1.4% year-over-year change 18.2% Arizona -13.1% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. Central Arizona Bank Closes The FDIC announced the closing of Central Arizona Bank in Scottsdale by the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions. To protect depositors of the failed bank, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Western State Bank of Devils Lake, North Dakota. In addition to assuming all of Central Arizona Bank's $30.8 million in deposits, Western State Bank will purchase "essentially all" $31.6 million of the failed bank's assets. The FDIC estimates the cost to its Deposit Insurance Fund to cover the Arizona institution's closure will be $8.6 million. Central Arizona Bank is the second to fail in the state this year. KNOW THIS More than 200,000 Arizona residents pay more than 78% of their income on rent, illustrating the state's affordable-rental shortage, according to the Arizona Housing Alliance.