Foreclosure filings in the Triangle slowed some in June but filings continue to outpace last year's levels through the first half of the year.

Filings in Durham, Johnston and Wake counties totaled 4,433 through the first six months of 2010, up 24 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts monthly report.

Foreclosure filings mark the start of the foreclosure process. Some homeowners will work out repayment plans. Others will lose their homes.

As the economic downturn has dragged on and the state's unemployment rate has remained high, the foreclosure crisis has spread from subprime borrowers to those with traditional mortgages.

Raleigh-based Stock Building Supply said today it has completed its purchase of the assets of Bison Building Holdings, a building supplier in the Houston area that filed for bankruptcy last year.

Bison focuses on the residential market.

Stock, which itself went through bankruptcy last year, has been shedding assets in order to focus just on the residential market.

It has also been acquiring competitors that fit its new focus.

In February, Stock said it had reached a "stalking horse" agreement to purchase the assets of an Arkansas building supply company that also filed for bankruptcy.

Stock is flush with cash thanks to a $75 million infusion from The Gores Group, the California private equity firm that owns a 51 percent stake in the company.

“We will continue exploring intelligent growth options both in our core markets and elsewhere if opportunities arise," Stock CEO Joe Appelmann said in a prepared statement. 

One of the Triangle’s veteran homebuilders is shutting its doors after being unable to successfully emerge from bankruptcy.

Anderson Homes, along with its younger cousin Vanguard Homes, has changed its bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, meaning the Cary company’s remaining assets will be sold to pay off creditors.

Anderson and Vanguard entered bankruptcy protection in March of last year. President Dave Servoss said the longer Anderson remained in bankruptcy the harder it became to emerge.

He said the accumulation of interest and attorney fees was swallowing up most of the company’s operating budget.

“As one of my bankers put it, the bag of rocks was just getting too heavy to carry,” Servoss said.

Home sales in the Triangle jumped again in May as buyers rushed to take advantage of the government’s tax credits for first-time and repeat buyers.

But the expiration of the tax credits, which required eligible buyers to put a home under contract by April 30 and close by June 30, appeared to cause many people to stop looking.

The number of showings in May was down 30 percent from the same month a year earlier, and pending sales were off 5 percent.

Those numbers will only increase anxiety over how the market will react once the tax credits are no longer around to provide a boost.

There were 2,083 homes sold during May in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, up 26 percent from the same month a year ago, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

The increase was less than the 33 percent year-over-year increase recorded in April.

The downfall of the father-and-son team behind Perry Builders continues.

Don Perry, who along with his son, Ryan, once had a presence in more than a dozen Triangle subdivisions, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

The Perrys land development company, R & D Development, also filed for bankruptcy last month.

At the peak of the housing boom, Perry Builders was constructing hundreds of homes each year, many of them in eastern Wake County.

But when the housing market slumped the company--like a number of home builders--got caught owning lots of land and new homes it couldn't sell.

Lenders have been foreclosing on Perry Builder lots and houses over the last year.

Don Perry's bankruptcy filing lists assets of between $1 million and $10 million and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million.

Listed among Don Perry's largest creditors are a host of different banks, including Wachovia, SunTrust, Crescent State Bank, BB&T, Bank of America, Cornerstone Bank and Paragon Commercial Bank.

The banks are owed nearly $30 million, according the filing.

Foreclosure filings in the Triangle continue to outpace last year's levels as the state's high unemployment rate pushes more homeowners into trouble.

Filings in Durham, Johnston, and Wake counties totaled 3,703 through the first five months of 2010, up 35 percent from the same period a year ago, according the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts monthly report.

In Wake County, there were 462 filings in May, up 62 percent from May 2009. Filings in Wake through the first five months of the year are 40 percent higher than the same period last year.

Durham recorded 152 filings in May, up 30 percent from May 2009. Through the first five months of the year filings in Durham are 41 percent higher than the same period last year.

Johnston filings in May totaled 85, down 35 percent from May of last year. Through the first five months of the year, Johnston filings are less than 3 percent ahead of last year's pace.

Filings mark the start of the foreclosure process. Some homeowners will work out repayment plans. Others will lose their homes.

Hue, the empty multicolor condo building at Dawson and Hargett streets in downtown Raleigh, is closed until further notice.

Signs announcing the closure are posted on the building's doors. An answering machine message at the Hue's sales office also says it is closed.

None of Hue's 208 units have sold, according to property records.

After a lengthy reservation period that left some prospective buyers wondering what was going on, Hue finally began selling units in January.

The project, which was developed by the Los Angeles company CityView along with Trammell Crow Residential, has been trying to qualify for government-back mortgage insurance programs to help with sales.

The project's application to be eligible for the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program is pending. Such approvals typically require at least half the units in a building be presold, but Hue was seeking a waiver.

Calls to CityView and John Butler, the sales manager for Hue, were not immediately returned.

Condo sales in downtown Raleigh have slowed to a crawl as lending has tightened and demand for the units has dropped.

Triangle home sales jumped 33 percent in April compared to the previous year as the market continued to benefit from the government's tax credit program for first-time and repeat buyers.

The deadline to be eligible for those tax credits was April 30 to put a home under contract and June 30 to close.

There were 1,880 homes sold during April in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

More people also put their homes on the market, as the number of homes listed during April was up 25 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

An Atlanta home builder has purchased the remaining lots in Chessington, a luxury residential community in Morrisville, from developer Rusty Ammons.

Ashton Woods Homes paid $2.46 million for 30 lots in Chessington last month. The subdivision is located near the intersection of Davis Drive and McCrimmon Parkway.

Ammons, president of RLA Development, said today that Ashton Woods made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Chessington was to originally offer custom homes priced between $550,000 and $650,000. The target price dropped to $450,000 as the economy deteriorated.

Ammons said the problem now is that custom home builders are having a tough time getting construction loans.

"They're not going to buy lots if they can't get construction loans," he said.

Raleigh-based Stock Building Supply said today it has an agreement in place to buy the assets of Bison Building Holdings, a building supplier in the Houston area that filed for bankruptcy last year.

This is Stock's second acquisition in the last several months. In February, Stock said it had reached a "stalking horse" agreement to purchase the assets of an Arkansas building supply company that also filed for bankruptcy. That agreement means Stock has been chosen as the intial buyer for the company's assets.

Bison's focuses on the residential market. Stock, which itself went through bankruptcy last year, has been shedding assets in order to focus on the residential market.

Stock CEO Joe Appelmann said earlier this year that the company would be on the prowl for acquisition targets.

Stock is flush with cash thanks to a $75 million infusion from The Gores Group, the California private equity firm that owns a 51 percent stake in the company.