A steady housing market – not too hot, not too cold – has protected the Triad well over the years.

But it couldn’t protect the region from a big jump in foreclosures in 2007 – the Triad had the largest percentage increase in foreclosures among North Carolina’s metropolitan areas, according to data released yesterday by RealtyTrac.com, an Internet company that lists foreclosed homes.

The Winston-Salem metropolitan statistical area reported 2,067 home foreclosures, an increase of 92 percent from 2006. Only the Greensboro-High Point MSA, with a 109 percent increase to 3,330, had a larger increase among urban counties.

Although the Winston-Salem MSA consists of Davie, Forsyth, Stokes and Yadkin counties, Forsyth had the vast majority of the foreclosures at 1,840 – up 102 percent from 909 in 2006.

Overall, North Carolina reported a 67 percent increase to 37,426 homes. The number of foreclosures in the United States rose 75 percent to 2.2 million.

A report presented by the N.C. Commissioner of Banks to the General Assembly on Jan. 23 provided little comfort on the state of the housing market.

It found that there could be an increase of up to 20 percent in foreclosures in North Carolina this year for three main reasons – more subprime loans posing payment shock as adjustable-rate mortgages reset at higher levels, slowing growth of home prices coupled with high leverage ratios, and a spillover from slowing economic conditions. (more…)