There were 25,673 foreclosures in Minnesota in 2010-an 11 percent jump from 23,092 the prior year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, in conjunction with other local housing organizations.

Before it was ousted by the staggering 2010 foreclosure data, 2009 was the second-highest foreclosure number on record, trailing only 2008, when the state saw 26,251 foreclosures.

In six of the last seven quarters, foreclosures increased from the previous quarter. However, the fourth quarter of 2010 was a positive indicator, as foreclosures dropped 27 percent from the third quarter.

The Twin Cities metro area saw 15,779 total foreclosures in 2010-up 9 percent from 14,532 in 2009.

Hennepin County experienced 6,161 foreclosures during the year-the most of any county in the state. Ramsey County followed, with 2,608 foreclosures.

Based on foreclosure rates-which reflect the number of foreclosed mortgages as a percent of total residential parcels in each respective county-Sherburne County fared the worst, with a rate of 2.93 percent.

“Even with the slowdown in the number of foreclosure sales that were completed in the fourth quarter, the number of Minnesota families losing their home to foreclosure in 2010 was still four to five times higher than what we saw before the start of the crisis,” Julie Gugin, executive director of the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, said in a statement.

And it may be a while before the state sees a significant decline in its foreclosure rates. The report doesn't include a projection of foreclosures in coming years, “due to continuing uncertainty about future economic conditions.”

But Gugin stated that, in 2011, “unless we see a dramatic improvement in the state's economic conditions, we'll continue to see elevated numbers of foreclosures.”

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is a network of 50 community-based nonprofit, government, and tribal organizations that provides homeownership education and foreclosure-prevention services to lower-income homes throughout the state.

Research for the foreclosure report was provided by HousingLink, and the statistics were derived from sheriff's sale data from each of the state's counties.