8/12/2009

The number of foreclosures statewide during the first half of 2009 was 15 percent below the same year-earlier period, according to a joint report by the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, Minnesota Housing and Family Housing Fund.

They reported 11,089 foreclosures in Minnesota through June, compared to 13,591 in the same period last year. In calendar 2008, there were 26,261 foreclosures in Minnesota.

While the report doesn’t reveal exact reasons, the decline likely is the result of actions taken by lenders, homeowners and homeownership counselors rather than due to improved housing and economic conditions.

Many major lenders placed moratoriums on foreclosures in late 2008/early 2009, and more lenders are working with homeowners to modify loans.

Meanwhile, the number of mortgages 60 or more days in default in Minnesota continues to climb. Without workout agreements with their lenders, many of these homeowners may be forced into foreclosure, potentially driving up foreclosure numbers in the second half of 2009.

St. Louis County has the highest number of foreclosure in Northeastern Minnesota, 176 in the first half of 2009, compared to 236 in the year-earlier period. Since Jan. 1, 2008, there have been 652 foreclosures in the county.

The “Foreclosures in Minnesota,” report analyzes sheriff’s sale data, the primary means of identifying foreclosures, from all Minnesota counties. To view a full copy, go to www.hocmn.org/reports.cfm.

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