We keep looking at the news headlines, like jobless rate falling, for signs that Minnesota is starting to feel the effects of an economic recovery. But, to use the slang of rural Minnesota, the economic body of Minnesota is still feeling a little poorly of late.
A Chris Snowbeck story in today’s St. Paul Pioneer Press noted that Minnesota lenders sent 6,411 pre-foreclosure notices to homeowners in September – 16 percent more than in January. Other problems on the mortgage front include a drop in “short sales” where people are discounting their homes to sell before foreclosures.
| Hindsight is the official blog of Minnesota 2020. Hindsight gives the run down on the news that jumps out at us on the issues that matter. Often times these stories show us how much further we need to go to have the progressive policy realized in Minnesota. |
This news comes after painful stories of the past week that showed the statistical decline in the state’s jobless rate was largely the result of unemployed people exhausting their unemployment benefits, which means even more people will hae difficulty making home payments in the months ahead. And it comes after the Wilder Foundation, one of the pillars of strength in the Twin Cities’ nonprofit community, was laying off people and cutting social programs to preserve its budget.
Minnesota 2020 has advocated a state Home Values Guarantee Program that requires action by the Minnesota Legislature early next year. It would assure home buyers of a stable housing market and reassure lenders they can restructure troubled loans without fear the new mortgages will also sink “under water.” Such a prop under the state’s economy is as urgent now as anytime in the past two years.
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