More than 50,000 homes foreclosed

DURHAM Figures show the foreclosure rate jumped about 9 percent over 2007. The N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks says there were 53,995 foreclosures across the state in 2008. That's up from 49,695 in 2007 and 45,470 in 2006.

It blames the slumping housing market and the economy.

According to realtytrac.com, one out of every 724 homes was foreclosed on in Durham County, while the number was one in 1011 in Wake County.

While the numbers sound bad, the Raleigh/Durham area is doing much better than some other parts of the country. In southwest Florida for example, some counties have seen the rate go as high as one in 84 homes in the past year.