For the fourth month in a row, more than 450 homes in Denton County have been posted for foreclosure as the numbers of homeowners affected by the subprime lending mortgage crisis and cost of living increases continue to rise.

Local nonprofit agencies are beginning to see more people needing help with food, gas and housing needs, officials say.

For the upcoming May auction, 459 homes have been posted for foreclosure sale, up about 47 percent from the 312 posted at the same time last year, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.

So far this year, 2,347 foreclosure notices have been filed on Denton County homes — more than half of the 4,254 home foreclosures filed in all of 2007.

Last year’s totals roughly equal about 2.5 percent of the estimated 167,000 single-family homes in Denton County — an estimate provided by the Denton Central Appraisal District.

Houses listed as foreclosure sales last year and the first five months of 2008 combined — at 6,601 — equal around 4 percent of the estimated single-family houses in the county.

“It is pretty high because, generally, the number has been averaging between 2 1/2 and 2 3/4 percent,” said George Roddy Sr., president of the Addison-based firm that tracks foreclosures in about a dozen counties. “Denton County has increased substantially in the last year and, as far as percentagewise, is certainly up there toward the top.”

Figures also show a growing number of homes valued at more than $300,000 on the list of those facing foreclosure auction sales, scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month. This year to date, a total of 348 homes valued at more than $300,000 have been listed for foreclosure, up 63 percent from the 214 similarly valued homes posted during the same period last year.

Denton and Rockwall counties remain among the hardest hit across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, both showing big increases for the May foreclosure sales. The number of homes facing forced sale by lenders in Rockwall County is double what it was a year ago. In Johnson County, foreclosure listings showed a 92 percent gain, while Ellis County figures were up 42 percent.

Across a 10-county region, an estimated 5,000 homes were posted for the May foreclosure auction — up more than 30 percent compared to the same period in 2007.

Higher mortgage payments coupled with increasing food and gas prices are making it difficult for some folks, Roddy said. “It’s a wonder that we don’t have more foreclosures.” 

At least one United Way of Denton County agency has seen an increase in requests for help, primarily from residents in the Providence and Savannah developments off U.S. Highway 380 — an area that has seen a number of foreclosures in the past few years.

Lilia Bynum, executive director for the local United Way, said members of the Pilot Point Good Fellows indicated they had seen increased calls for assistance. Calls to the organization were not returned Friday.

Jodi Ransom, community resources director for United Way, said she refers people to partner agencies when they call for help.

While she has no ability to track the need for help with housing problems over other kinds of requests, the daily call volume has increased in recent months, she said.

“Lately, all of it’s been up,” Ransom said. “A lot seems to be tied to the high price of gas.”

The number of families seeking help with food has doubled, according to Laquetta Pickett, volunteer coordinator for the Denton Community Food Center.

“We have seen a higher demand,” she said, adding that the food center also is seeing less food available at larger food banks, which depend on overflow from food manufacturers.

“Their resources are drying up,” Pickett said, as manufacturers improve their output controls. “We are having to depend on financial resources from our donors so that we can go to the grocery stores so that we can buy food.”

Pickett said a recent fundraiser  brought in $3,500, which is almost enough for the local center to buy food for a month.

“We just have a lot of people who need help,” she said. “I don’t think the average person has a clue how little so many people have.”

Staff writer Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe and The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.

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

Denton County foreclosures

Residential foreclosure postings from January through May in 2007 and 2008 indicate that the values of homes posted for foreclosure sales have increased. The majority of homes posted for foreclosure are in the $100,000 to $199,000 range. However, the number of homes valued at $300,000 and above posted for foreclosure has been increasing. 

Home value range         YTD 2007       YTD 2008       Share of           Change YTD

           Jan.-May          Jan.-May          YTD 2008       ’08 vs. ’07

Less than $99,999        135      197      8.9%    45.9%

$100,000–$199,999    1,034   1,353   61.1%  30.9%

$200,000–$299,999    275      316      14.3%  14.9%

$300,000–$499,999    168      250      11.3%  48.8%

$500,000–$999,999    41        81        3.7%    97.6%

$1 million+       5          17        0.8%    240.0%

TOTAL            1,658   2,214               

Note: These numbers may not equal the total sum of residential postings.

SOURCE: Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.