RACINE COUNTY - Foreclosure filings here rose slightly last month compared with those of November 2006, according to figures released Tuesday.

Last month lenders filed 74 foreclosures in Racine County, ForeclosuresWI.com reported. That was up slightly from the 71 filed 12 months earlier.

Through November, 729 foreclosures had been filed, an 11 percent increase for the year to date over the 658 foreclosures filed in the same period of 2006.

Increases this year have followed an already high level of foreclosures in 2006, when they rose by 34 percent statewide over 2005 levels.

This year they are 29 percent greater than last year and are averaging 89 foreclosures filed every business day, ForeclosuresWI.com calculated.

In a related story, the Federal Reserve Tuesday cut interest rates for a third time in the past four months as an antidote to the widening mortgage crisis.

The Fed cut the federal funds rate by a quarter-point, pushing the federal funds rate to 4.25 percent.

Commercial banks were expected to quickly match the latest reduction by trimming their prime lending rate. That would reduce this benchmark rate for millions of consumer and business loans to 7.25 percent, the lowest level in two years.

Fed officials also signaled that further cuts were possible if a severe downturn in housing and a crisis in mortgage lending get worse.

Third straight cut

The Fed started cutting rates in September with a half-point move and then reduced the funds rate by a quarter-point at its Oct. 31 meeting.

In addition to cutting the funds rate, the Fed announced it was reducing its discount rate, the interest it charges to make direct loans to banks, by a quarter-point as well to 4.75 percent. This reduction was aimed at encouraging banks to borrow more freely from the Fed at a time when there are worries that a rising number of bad loans will prompt banks to tighten credit conditions too severely, adding another strain on the already fragile economy.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are trying to head off the possibility of recession. According to the Associated Press, many analysts believe the current quarter and the early part of next year will represent the period of greatest danger for a possible recession.

A severe slump in housing, spreading mortgage defaults and financial market turbulence which hit hard in August are the forces threatening the economy.

A forecasting panel of the Securities Industry and Financial Market Markets Association said Monday it believed overall economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, would come in at a weak 2.1 percent in 2008, with housing construction and sales continuing to fall for most of the year. That would be the weakest GDP growth in six years.

Nearby counties

Although Racine County homeowners have continued to suffer with greater numbers of foreclosure filings this year than last, the situation is worsening with increasing fury elsewhere. This county's 11 percent increase for the year through November has been much milder than for many other counties in this part of the state.

Milwaukee County foreclosures are up by 53 percent through November. Kenosha's foreclosures, at 754, exceed those of Racine County and are running 35 percent ahead of last year's pace. And Walworth is running 50 percent of its 2006 pace.

Robert Jansen, president of ForeclosuresWI.com, again noted several contributing factors driving these trends including: adjustable-rate mortgage resets; a soft housing market; the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, have forced many more homeowners into foreclosure.

Adjustable-rate and exotic/subprime mortgage rate resets continue to bring staggering increases to many homeowners' monthly mortgage payments.

And the cooling of the housing market and overall increase in the number of homes on the market has made it more difficult for those facing financial trouble to quickly sell their home to avoid foreclosure.

Compounding the issue, many lenders have tightened lending standards in the wake of subprime mortgage crisis and skyrocketing mortgage defaults, which eliminates many refinancing options for those in trouble.

For more information and foreclosure resources, visit www.foreclosureswi.com.