Foreclosures Up 93% from July 2006 to July 2007

July foreclosure filings—including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossession—rose 93% from July 2006 and were up 9% from June, according to the latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac.

Unfortunately, this may be just the tip of the iceberg. According to Moody’s economy.com, mortgage delinquencies are expected to increase over the next year, peaking in the summer of 2008. By this time, 3.6% of all mortgage debt is expected to be delinquent, an increase of 20% from today’s figures. It’s even worse for subprimes. The foreclosure rate for these loans is expected to rise by 250%, from 4% to over 10%.

How can you avoid getting caught in the next wave of foreclosures?

As Jay Fleischman noted in his blog on the same article, loss mitigation is probably the best option for getting some relief. Since refinances are largely unavailable for most people, at least at the current time, there aren’t a whole lot of additional options available. Congress is considering making some changes to the Bankruptcy Code that might make Chapter 13 bankruptcy attractive, but right now it won’t give you relief from an obscene interest rate and lowered property prices.

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