Housing

There were 3,688 foreclosures in Minnesota last month, according to a new report by RealtyTrac. That’s down 11 percent from July, but an increase of 71 percent from a year ago. Minnesota ranks 21st nationally in terms of the percentage of homes currently in foreclosure.

I guess Rep. “Joe” Wilson (R-S.C.) — actually, Addison Graves Wilson, Sr. — found out about that secret Democratic plot to provide all illegal immigrants with free health care.
What else could explain his outburst — “You Lie!” — during President Obama’s speech on health care reform (video), responding to the president’s statement that “the reforms [...]

As lawsuits wind their way through the court system, more details and allegations about the inner workings of the subprime world are emerging — and Minnesota’s second-largest employer remains in the legal crosshairs.

Despite the recent good news that home prices in the U.S. rose 2.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009, it’s too early to call it a turnaround for the battered housing sector.

As bank-owned foreclosed properties pile up across the country, from abandoned houses in hard-hit neighborhoods to empty big box retail stores in failed strip malls, the fight over holding someone responsible for the brick and mortar mess left behind by the mortgage crisis continues to heat up.

Rosemary Williams is, technically, a squatter. On August 7, Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies showed up to evict her from a residence in the 3100 block of Clinton Avenue South. But within 10 minutes, by Williams’ own account, she was back in the home that she’s lived in for nearly three decades.

Startling requirements in out-dated, but still used paperwork raises questions about how well Treasury is overseeing the centerpiece of Obama’s foreclosure crisis solution.

Once a central element of the administration’s plan to help underwater homeowners, cramdown is no longer part of the debate.

There’s more proof out today that the foreclosure crisis is only getting worse, despite everything that’s been thrown at it so far: Foreclosure notices reached a new record high during the first half of this year.

The time may be ripe for a shift in strategy as the foreclosure machine grinds on, and new foreclosure notices reach a troubling 10,000 per day. Lawmakers have a choice: let the foreclosures go on for perhaps years, at the expense of millions of homeowners, or take the crisis head on.