The city of Syracuse in Central New York got along fairly well during this time of recession as indicated by the fair number of properties on bank owned foreclosure listings. According to Brookings Institute’s quarterly report MetroMonitor, the city is not doing as badly as the rest of the country.

However, not everything is rosy in Central New York. In Syracuse metro area, the economic activity dropped by 5.4 percent from its peak in 2007, according to economist Howard Wial. Counties included in the Syracuse metro area are Madison, Oswego and Onondaga.

Wial said that the decline in the gross metropolitan product placed the Syracuse metro area in the 11th ranking for worst among top 100 U.S. cities. Other economic indicators, except the number of properties on bank foreclosure listings, performed badly.

The average wage in the area dropped by 2.2 percent from the last quarter of 2008 to the first three months of 2009. The wage decline in Syracuse was the second worst recorded nationwide, according to the report. The city that topped the worst average wage was Rochester, with a 2.3 percent drop.

Meanwhile, the real estate market in Syracuse is the only sector showing some positive activity. The report noted that 0.58 out of 1,000 houses in the city were placed on bank foreclosure listings. According to Brookings Institute, the city’s foreclosure rate was the lowest in the country.

Brookings Institute’s MetroMonitor report studied the financial condition of 100 biggest metropolitan areas in the country to get a glimpse of national economic trends. The ranking of cities was based on changes in economic indicators, including foreclosures, economic productivity, unemployment rates and home prices.

Co-author Alan Berube said that all cities included in the study are suffering from the effects of economic crisis. However, he pointed out that the hardships and difficulties are not equally shared.

He said that some areas have experienced a slight economic downturn and are in the process of recovering from the recession. Meanwhile, those who live in metropolitan areas that showed a weak economic performance should brace themselves for a tedious and long recovery.

The report claimed that effects of recession have been distributed unequally across the country, with unemployment data in Provo, Utah surging by 5.1 percent, 17.5 percentage points in Modesto, California and prices of properties on bank foreclosure listings drastically dropping by 30.6 percent in California city, Stockton.