Continuing a two-year trend, bankruptcy filings in Minnesota declined in the first half of 2012, dropping 11.5 percent from the same period last year, according to figures from U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Through June, there were a total of 9,178 bankruptcy filings, both business and personal.

The number of Minnesota homes sold increased in November. According to the Minnesota Association of Realtors, housing sales were up 11.2 percent compared to a year ago. However, home prices remain low. The report blames foreclosures for keeping values down, but credits bargin prices and low interest rates for the improved sales.

Foreclosures and short sales made up about half of the home sales in the Twin Cities area by the end of 2011. But even among traditional sales, prices are plunging. The median price fell more than ten percent last year, down to $190,000.

A dip in foreclosures in 2011 may be an aberration. One expert says lenders just fell behind in processing them and are likely to work through the backlog during 2012.

Despite a drop in foreclosures in the Twin Cities last year, 2012 will not likely be the year that the housing crisis winds down. The Star Tribune reports that a moratorium on processing new foreclosures has ended, which will likely increase the number of local foreclosures processed in the coming year.