Report: Prepare for new wave of mortgage foreclosure

At the end of February, the annual ‘Foreclosures in Minnesota’ report was published, and the trends we are seeing are promising, but indicate we should not get too comfortable.

Among the most notable highlights in the report is the actual number of foreclosures that took place in Minnesota during 2011: 21,298. That number is down from the 25,673 foreclosures we saw in 2010; a 17% decrease. The Twin Cities Metro Area went from 15,779 in 2010 to 13,181 in 2011. This is the lowest number of foreclosures we have seen statewide since 2007. So while it is still leagues higher than 2005 when the number hovered around 6,000, the trend is moving in the right direction.

 

Speculators have said we should prepare ourselves for another wave of foreclosures in the coming months. For now, we can appreciate the decline, however slight it may be.

This report has been published each year since 2005 by a group of affordable housing organizations including the Minnesota Homeownership Center, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Family Housing Fund and Housing Link. Using Sheriff’s Sale data from across the state, they research and identify annual statistics and trends on foreclosures in Minnesota. 

If you are interested in learning more about Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program, please visit us online or call us at 612-331-4090 ext. 3.

If you live outside of the city of Minneapolis, contact the Minnesota Homeownership Center at 651-659-9336 for more information.

Haley Wotzka, Foreclosure Prevention Counselor, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

Information excerpted from 2011 Foreclosures in Minnesota: A Report Based on County Sheriff’s Sale Data.”