Pre-Foreclosure Filings Jump

Pre-foreclosure filings totaled just over 100,000 in July, an increase of 27% from the level recorded in June, according to ForeclosureS.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm.The 100,421 filings, up from 79,018 in June, the company said. "The numbers are dismal, but we had better get used to it because the bloodletting likely will continue for another 12 to 18 months," said Alexis McGee, president of the firm. She added, however, that the foreclosure outlook should not be a cause for panic. "In spite of the housing industry's troubles, the nation's economy, as measured by the 3.4% second-quarter growth in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, is going strong, and so is current consumer confidence in it," she said. The company can be found online at http://www.foreclosures.com.