Foreclosure activity in Mecklenburg County jumped last month, a signal the long-running problem remains entrenched.
There were 761 foreclosure filings for the county, up 18.5 percent compared with September 2007, according to data compiled by the Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh. That was slightly above the state average for the month and followed two months of small increases. Mecklenburg, which has long had the most filings, accounts for about one in six statewide.
Through September, 6,509 Mecklenburg property owners faced the threat of foreclosure, up 12 percent from the first nine months last year.
Filings are a strong indicator of troubled mortgages, although not all will result in a final foreclosure. Some people will catch up on payments, work out a new loan, sell their house, file for bankruptcy or otherwise avoid foreclosure. Many will not.
For September, several Charlotte area counties saw much larger increases than Mecklenburg although the number of filings is smaller.
Cabarrus, up 38 percent, to 112.
Union, up 26 percent, to 116.
Iredell, up 17 percent, to 77.
Gaston, up 11 percent, to 131.
Lincoln County, while up for the year, saw a 5 percent decrease, to 37 filings last month.
Statewide, foreclosure filings rose a little less than 18 percent in September, increasing in 57 of the 100 counties. So far, there have been nearly 42,000 filings this year, putting the state on track for another record year.
Stella M. Hopkins: 704-358-5173
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