Meanwhile, ForeclosureS.com says a midsummer drop in foreclosure activity in the Midwest was only "a temporary lull."Company president Alexis McGee said the Midwest "never got caught up in the speculative frenzy" that has occurred on the East and West coasts, but that rising energy costs, higher interest rates, and an estimated 40,000 plant closures in the Midwest have created fertile ground for foreclosures. "In Cook County, for example, as of Sept. 10, almost 7,000 homes have been lost in foreclosure, but 16,111 more are in some stage of the foreclosure process," Ms. McGee reported. "Only about 28% of the city's housing stock is owner occupied. These people in the foreclosure process have a limited buyer population to whom they can sell their way out of foreclosure."
