A Raleigh-based advocacy group says home foreclosures have jumped dramatically in Durham and statewide, and says the trend is fueled by so-called "predatory" mortgage lending practices.

In 2006, North Carolina saw 45,512 foreclosure filings, an all-time high and almost triple the 16,630 filings in 1998, according to the N.C. Justice Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates on issues linked to poverty.