Foreclosure tide rising again across Minnesota

Like a pummeled prize fighter, Minnesota housing markets continue to rise but stagger.

Positive signs -- supply and demand of homes for sale is stabilizing in the metro area -- continue to be met by data showing more problems on the way.

The latest troubling numbers come from HousingLink, a Twin Cities housing and research group that found big percentage increases in foreclosures in the Twin Cities suburbs and exurbs in the first quarter of 2010 vs. 2009.

CORRECTION: HousingLink corrected several numbers this afternoon. A double-counting issue by Dakota County led to numbers being overstated in the HousingLink report. That threw off the overall numbers. Dakota County showed 545 foreclosures in the first quarter of 2010, a 36 percent increase over the same time in 2009.

I've corrected the data below and updated the charts.

Overall, the HousingLink data showed

nearly 7,000

6,716 Minnesota foreclosures in the first three months of 2010 -- up

31

28 percent over the same period last year.

"I think we're seeing somewhat of a realization of a foreclosure crisis that has gone from being more of a metro and urban phenomenon (lending/borrowing practices) to one that hits more broadly across all geographies as a result of unemployment," said Dan Hylton, research manager with HousingLink.

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center notes that pre-foreclosure notices are up nearly 20 percent between the first quarter of 2010 and 2009.

"I do believe that we are seeing the number of notices trending upward in the suburban and exurban areas," said Ed Nelson with the center, a non-profit group that counsels people in danger of losing their homes.

"All of the suburban counties are trending upward for 2010... and are already ahead of where they were during the same time period last year."

While the numbers are definitely not good news, Realtor Aaron Dickinson notes the market is in much better shape to handle the next wave of mortgage problems than it was in 2008.

"For a year or so there have been stories of more foreclosures coming," Dickinson wrote on his Twin Cities real estate blog.

"While I don't doubt the warning and we're starting to see a tick up in sheriff sales, I do think that given the speed that the banks are going that it will be 2011 before we see much of this expected surge of foreclosure/(real estate owned) inventory on the market."

We wrote a few weeks ago that the next wave of mortgage problems was approaching.

While they won't swamp the market like they did two years ago, the newest wave will continue to push back the day when we can declare the market recovered.

BONUS: Listen to HousingLink's Dan Hylton talk about the numbers with MPR's Tom Crann:

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