World Economic

The federal Housing Finance Agency has given North Carolina a $159 million grant to help prevent home foreclosures in counties where unemployment hovered at 12 percent or higher in 2009.

North Carolina was one of five states to qualify for a piece of the $600 million program. South Carolina received $138 million. The other states are Ohio, Oregon and Rhode Island.

The Raleigh-based N.C. Housing Finance Agency will administer the grant, which will help unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure through mortgage modifications, including principal reductions.

Foreclosure filings in Mecklenburg County rose 82 percent in February from a year earlier, according to court data provided by the state.

The number of foreclosure filings in Mecklenburg totaled 940 that month, up from 517 a year earlier. The number of filings in February increased 17 percent from January, when the county’s foreclosure filings totaled 804.

The number of filings in Mecklenburg last year totaled 12,769, the county’s highest annual number on record. Statewide, the total hit 63,312, also a record.

A number of surrounding counties also saw significant increases in foreclosure filings in February. In Gaston County, the number of filings hit 149, a jump of 161% from 57 a year ago. Cabarrus, Catawba and Iredell counties all had 86 percent increases from a year earlier, and Rowan County had an 80 percent jump in the number of filings, according to the court data.

Foreclosure filings indicate the beginning of foreclosure proceedings, but not every case results in a foreclosure sale. The statistics include both residential and commercial foreclosure filings.

Source