Minnesota foreclosures down in 2011, but still well above pre-housing crisis levels

There were fewer of these notices going up around Minnesota last year than in 2010.

​Minnesota saw a significant drop in foreclosures last year, but foreclosures are still up dramatically when compared to pre-housing crisis levels.

A study by HousingLink revealed that foreclosures fell 17 percent last year relative to 2010, from 25,673 to 21,298. The crest of the housing crisis came in 2008, when there were 26,251 foreclosures in the state.

That's good news, but there's still a ways to go to get back to normal.

Julie Gugin, executive director of the homeownership center, said that the foreclosure rate is still three to four times higher than it was before the housing crisis began in 2006. And some areas, including Olmstead, Dakota, and Isanti counties, haven't seen a foreclosure decrease.

As a whole, Minnesota's foreclosure situation appears to be more positive than it is in most states. RealtyTrac reports that one in every 624 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing of some form in January, compared with one in every 778 houses in Minnesota.

The overarching trend emerging from the study was nicely summarized by Ed Nelson, spokesman for the Minnesota Homeownership Center.

"Overall we are trending in the right direction, but we are certainly not out of the woods yet," he said.