Twin Cities are No. 61 of 100 in measure of recession's toll (Minneapolis: prices, housing market)

[Slig]

Twin Cities are No. 61 in measure of recession's toll

The recession's toll on the Twin Cities economy puts the region about in the middle of the pack among large U.S. cities, a report out today says -- except for a lackluster housing market.

The Brookings Institution report, measuring economic performance of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas during the recession, ranks Minneapolis-St. Paul No. 61. (No. 1 is best, 100 the worst.)

By most measures -- employment, jobless rate, gross metropolitan product -- the Twin Cities are close to the median. But the metro area's change in housing prices ranked 66th -- although not nearly as bad as the California and Florida cities that have seen the steepest declines.

The Twin Cities area also suffers from what could be dubbed the Wright County Effect: a high concentration of bank-owned properties, which the report attributed to "significant exurban expansion in recent years." Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked 92nd in this category."

An interesting article. So essentially it can be inferred that according to The Brookings Institution's findings, had significant exurban expansion in recent years not taken place in the Twin Cities metropolitan area it would be faring much better in the recession. Just another reason to hate urban sprawl.