Residential foreclosure postings for the upcoming May 5 auction in Denton County topped last month’s record-breaking numbers by 5 percent, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.

Officials say the spike is likely caused by a larger number of previously foreclosed homes being posted again.

The 595 listings set another record for the county and marked the sixth time the area surpassed the 500 threshold. Denton County foreclosures increased 30 percent from the 459 listings recorded for May 2008, records show.

“I think what we’re seeing — and certainly it’s not good news, it certainly could be worse — is a fairly high percentage of reposts this month due to the fact that it’s kind of a building-up effect from the last three months,” said George Roddy Sr., president of the Addison-based company. The firm releases foreclosure data on a 19-county area in North Texas each month.

In short, postings from previous months were piling up after Fannie Mae’s moratorium in late November on foreclosure proceedings and lenders were awaiting details on President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package relating to loan modifications and debt reductions.

“Now, what we’re seeing with this lifting of the moratorium and a clear, defined direction, I think things will kind of clear out,” Roddy said. “I think the spikes that we’ve seen in the last couple of months will subside to the late 2008 numbers.”

The biggest change in the past 30 days, records show, is the increase in the number of foreclosure postings that had previously been posted.

Last month, just less than 40 percent of the total residential postings had been previously posted within the past six months. A year earlier, the numbers hovered at 38 percent.

For May, however, postings of previously posted homes totaled 51 percent. Compared to May 2008, the number of homes filed again for foreclosure surged 74 percent.

Despite the increase in residential foreclosure postings, the market in North Texas is still moving along, according to Myra Oliver, president of the Greater Denton-Wise County Association of Realtors.

Real estate agents are still getting calls on properties, Oliver said.

“It hasn’t stopped,” she said. “I talk to Realtors every day. Their business has really picked up in the past few weeks, and I am extremely busy. Foreclosures are one of the things selling now. Investors are coming out. It’s a buyer’s market.”

In Denton County, according to North Texas Real Estate Information System Inc., a total of 420 homes were sold in March at 96.92 percent of the list price. The average time a home was on the market was 83 days, with a median time of 22 days. A total of 353 homes were sold in February.

“Texas is really pretty strong compared to other state markets,” Oliver said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is bjlewis@dentonrc.com .

DAWN COBB can be reached at 940-566-6879. Her e-mail address is dcobb@dentonrc.com .