ForeclosureS.com: 0.3% Lost Homes in 1st Half

Three of every 1,000 homeowners in the United States lost their homes to foreclosure in the first half, a 41% increase from the level recorded in the first half of 2006, according to ForeclosureS.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm.That translated into 247,907 residential properties that wound up in the hands of banks or lenders, the company said. "Hundreds of thousands more homeowners won't be able to escape foreclosure for most of the rest of the year, either, unless stagnating housing prices and markets pick up and the nation's economy rebounds, too," said Alexis McGee, president of the firm. The company can be found online at http://www.foreclosures.com.