THE COMING FORECLOSURE FLOOD “Harris County foreclosures totaled 11,837 in 2008, up 0.6 percent from 11,766 during the prior year, according to The Woodlands-based Foreclosure Information & Listing Service. The figures represent foreclosed homes up for sale on the first Tuesday of each month at the courthouse. The next auction won’t be until January. . . . Foreclosures had made double-digit percentage gains in the prior two years. But they began to moderate toward the end of 2008 because the now government-controlled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac halted foreclosure sales between Nov. 26 and Jan. 9. Also, earlier in the year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development put a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures in areas affected by Hurricane Ike. Additionally, lenders typically hold off on foreclosures during the Christmas season, adding to the slowdown, said Michael Weaster, an agent who specializes in selling foreclosed properties for banks. ‘Nobody wants to look like ogres during the holidays,’ Weaster said. ‘So what we’ve got in the pipelines is significant.’” [Houston Chronicle]