Despite signs that the economy is slowly recovering, foreclosure levels across the country remain at near record levels. Last month default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions were reported on 358,471 properties. That’s less than one percent under the record mark in July, but still 18 percent higher than a year ago.

Nevada continues to lead the nation in foreclosure rates: last month foreclosure filings were made on one in 53 properties in the state. Florida and California had the next highest rates.

The good news? The Twin Cities actually fell in the nationwide rankings for foreclosure filings during the third quarter. Out of 100 metro-area foreclosures, Minneapolis-St. Paul ranks 61st. During that period the Twin Cities saw nearly 5,000 foreclosure filings, or about 0.38 percent of total households went into foreclosure.

However September numbers spotlight a growing problem in Minnesota. Nationwide, foreclosure numbers increased by 21 percent compared to September of 2007, while Minnesota’s rise doubled that. As we reported earlier, Housing Link projects that foreclosures will continue to rise into 2010 in Minnesota.