Minn. home foreclosures fall in first quarter of 2009

HousingLink's data focus on homes in an early stage of foreclosure show that Minnesota had about 5,200 foreclosures in the first four months of 2009, down nearly 20 percent from the same period last year.

Twin Cities foreclosures dropped 23 percent over the same period and Greater Minnesota saw a decline of about 13 percent.

Ed Nelson is with the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, which oversees housing counseling services around the state. He said, while foreclosures are down in early 2009, his organization expects the year-end numbers to look similar to last year's, when the state had 27,000 foreclosures.

"I think we'll see a bit of an uptick or some catch-up in the remaining quarters of 2009," Nelson said.

Many banks had stopped foreclosures earlier this year. Nelson said as those programs come to an end and the economy remains weak, foreclosures may rise.