SIGN OF THE TIMES

Foreclosure filings reach record high in N.C.

The Charlotte Observer examined foreclosure statistics for 2003 through 2006 and found:

• More than 80 percent of foreclosures involve homes valued at $150,000 or less.

• Most foreclosures cluster on [Mecklenburg] county's west, north and east sides, where houses and land often carry lower price tags.

The newspaper also ... found dozens of relatively new, starter-home neighborhoods with high concentrations of failed mortgage loans. Those foreclosure clusters drove down home values in whole neighborhoods, even hurting owners who made their payments on time.

So goes George W. Bush's "ownership society."