Minnesota continues to have the highest foreclosure rate in the Upper Midwest, according to new Realty Trac data for the month of August.

Minnesota now has the 21st highest housing foreclosure rate in the nation, up from 25th in the country back in November 2008. During that nine-month span, foreclosures have risen 67 percent in the Gopher State – from 1 out of 1,044 housing units to 1 out of 625.

The good news for Minnesota is that its foreclosure rate, like its August unemployment rate, is down from July, by 10.6 percent. Foreclosure rates also decreased across the Upper Midwest during the past month in South Dakota (-28.1 percent) and North Dakota (-34.0 percent), but increased in Iowa (+20.6 percent) and Wisconsin (+3.9 percent).

Nearly 75 percent of Minnesotans are home owners, according to both 2007 census data (73.5 percent) and an aggregation of monthly 2009 polling by SurveyUSA (74.5 percent). That puts the Gopher State at the 14th highest ownership rate in the nation.

Iowa ranks 12th in the country (73.7 percent), with Wisconsin at 27th (70.5 percent), South Dakota at 28th (70.4 percent), and North Dakota at 42nd (66.5 percent). The national average for home ownership in 2007 was 68.1 percent.

Although Minnesota has the highest foreclosure rate in the Upper Midwest, and even though there has been a 67 percent increase in housing foreclosures in Minnesota since the 2008 election, the Gopher State has not experienced the biggest uptick in foreclosures in the region since last November.

· South Dakota has endured the largest increase during the past nine months – with foreclosures rising 159.0 percent – although its rate of 1 per 3,027 units is just 45th in the nation, up only one slot since November.

· Wisconsin’s rate has increased 99.4 percent, from 1 out of 1,288 units to 1 out of 646. Wisconsin now has the 23rd highest foreclosure rate in the country, up from 29th last November.

· Iowa’s rate is up 37.9 percent from November 2008, to 1 foreclosure out of 1,834 units, but has dropped in the national rankings from 38th to 42nd.

· North Dakota, one of the few states in the nation not facing budget gaps and with unemployment statewide scarcely over 4 percent, has actually seen its foreclosure rate decline during the past 9 months – by 40.5 percent. Only 1 out of 9,411 housing units are being foreclosed in North Dakota, good for 50th in the nation (down from 44th last November).

Minnesota’s rate of 1 out of 625 units is still much lower than the national average of 1 out of 357 units, with high foreclosure rates in heavily populated states like Florida (1 out of 140) and California (1 out of 144) elevating the national average.

Change in Housing Foreclosure Rates in Upper Midwest Since Election Day

State
Nov ’08
Aug ’09
% Change
Nov ’08 rank
Aug ’09 rank
MN
1:1,044
1:625
+67.0
25
21
WI
1:1,288
1:646
+99.4
29
23
IA
1:2,529
1:1,834
+37.9
38
42
SD
1:7,840
1:3,027
+159.0
46
45
ND
1:5,596
1:9,411
-40.5
44
50

Source: Realty Trac data.

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5 Comments

  1. being goode on September 21, 2009 at 9:36 pm

    Lever up people!

    But seriously…those mods? I’m sure they’re working out REAL well. Given when a lot of that started, they may actually ADD to the rates of default later this year since a huge share are going to just be delayed foreclosures. All depends on the timing, but ultimately, they’ll make the past problem look worse in the future.

  2. Kevin Simpson on September 22, 2009 at 2:33 pm

    Too bad that the situation in Minnesota is so complicated. But as you said, not only in MN but in other states, almost everyone, the numbers went up since election

  3. being goode on September 22, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    In the 1990’s the FED and the Govt spend tens of billions of $$ on bailouts, now they spent trillions of $$ on bailouts, what will it be in 5 years time?”
    Gold?

    But seriously….

    Banks aren’t real estate management companies. They have little to no incentive to widen the pipe for foreclosures. In cases where they are just servicing the mortgage, they have no incentive to do so. They keep stringing people along because they are forced too, or are behind on processing defaults.

    Here’s a Wachovia Alt A deal, think these properties will be hitting the market at some point? 22pct serious dq, only 6.4pct REO.

    SEC Info: http://www.secinfo.com/d1zj61.vJx.htm#1stPage

    45% Florida + CA 2006 vintage.

    Distribution Date
    —— Delinquencies ——
    30 Day 60 Day 90 Day FCL BK REO CumLoss CPR Pool Balance
    Aug 2009
    3.36% 2.82% 0.78% 22.54% 2.44% 6.38% 5.76% 13.80% 415,571
    Jul 2009
    4.48% 2.03% 1.57% 22.30% 2.18% 5.93% 5.41% 20.71% 420,820
    Jun 2009
    4.12% 3.66% 0.68% 20.93% 1.94% 6.00% 4.93% 16.50% 429,110
    May 2009
    4.48% 2.50% 1.13% 19.50% 1.81% 5.46% 4.51% 17.03% 435,679
    Apr 2009
    3.89% 2.64% 1.15% 18.85% 2.08% 5.00% 3.83% 13.71% 442,579
    Mar 2009
    3.54% 3.47% 1.10% 16.65% 2.19% 5.60% 3.42% 12.36% 448,120

  4. Susan on September 28, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    I’m bracing for a good turn-around for 2010.

  5. David Wells on September 26, 2013 at 10:25 pm

    It’s been three years since this article was written and foreclosures are still running rampant. The cause and effect have been felt by many. We need to look at the Fed for answers. Real Estate runs in cycles. The banks loosened their lending guidelines three to five years ago and allowed a lot of people to get into houses they couldn’t afford and it’s happening again right now. This will result in the next wave of foreclosures. We the people as a whole, need to learn to live within our means.

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