Here’s the press release from the North Carolina Media Center:

If average foreclosure rates for the year stay constant, North Carolina will reach a record of 70,000-plus filings for 2010, according to court data.

By the end of July, the state had experienced more than 40,000 filings – enough, if trends hold, to eclipse last year’s record of 63,289.

“The foreclosure crisis is devastating for North Carolina’s working families,” said Alfred Ripley, head of the NC Justice Center’s Consumer Action Network. “Across the state, people are struggling to stay in their homes.

The top three North Carolina counties for foreclosures are Mecklenburg, with 6,726 so far this year, Wake (3,246) and Guilford (2,542).

Rounding out the top ten are Forsyth (1,449), Union (1,179), New Hanover (1,126), Durham (1,109), Buncombe (1,073), Gaston (1,068), and Cumberland (961) counties.

“Now more than ever, we have to protect our state’s homeowners by supporting home preservation programs such as the Housing Finance Agency’s Home Protection Program and the NC Commissioner of Banks Foreclosure Prevention Project,” said Ripley.

Ripley praised lawmakers for passing Senate Bill 1015, the Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act, during the last session. The bill restricts certain unscrupulous practices, such as foreclosure rescue scams. More attention to the problem is needed, Ripley said.

“We also need to create more affordable housing options through the Housing Trust Fund,” he said, “and continue to strengthen and pass common-sense rules and regulations on mortgage lending and home foreclosure policies and procedures.”

This is a national problem, as foreclosure rates across America ticked up 4 percent in July. Forecasters now believe rates might not peak until next year.

County-by-county data on foreclosures is available upon request.