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N.C. foreclosure activity continued surging last month, led by another jump in Mecklenburg County that puts the state on track for a record number of filings this year.
Statewide, filings rose 40 percent in September, compared with a year ago, according to Observer analysis of court data compiled by the state.
The state's total of more than 46,000 filings this year is nearly 11 percent ahead of last year. The state could break the 60,000 mark for the first time by year's end.
Mecklenburg County saw an 82 percent increase last month, to 1,384, the second highest number on record for the county and the seventh consecutive month over 1,000. The county's filings accounted for more than one-fifth of the state's total.
Foreclosure filings mark the start of foreclosures. Some homeowners will work out repayment plans while others will lose their home to final foreclosure sales.
Mecklenburg is among 21 counties that have had more filings through September than for all of last year. Final foreclosure sales also rose last month in the county, up more than 15 percent compared with September 2008.
Starting this month, a new state law allows clerks of court presiding over foreclosure hearings to require that lenders detail efforts to help the borrower. The clerks also will be able to grant a delay of up to 60 days to allow more time to reach a solution.
On Wednesday, the state said a foreclosure-prevention program started last fall has helped 2,040 people in 97 of 100 N.C. counties keep their homes. Of those helped, 248, or 12 percent are in Mecklenburg.
