WATERLOO - The foreclosure flood has seeped into Black Hawk County.

Despite that, real estate agents say the local housing market is holding its own.

Average monthly foreclosure filings in Black Hawk County were up 36.8 percent through the first two months of 2008 over 2007, according to data provided by the Black Hawk Abstract Company. The numbers include both residential and commercial filings, but Black Hawk Abstract Company president Tim Reilly said the majority of filings were residential.

Meanwhile, a local credit counseling agency was awarded a $306,776 grant as part of a federal program to help homeowners facing foreclosure in the subprime loan crisis. Consumer Credit Counseling Services, which has offices in several Iowa towns including Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Decorah, was awarded the grant as part of a $130 million National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program approved by the U.S. Congress.

"This has been going on for several years, but we haven't really seen it yet because it was done in soft format," CCCS CEO Karen Atwood said of the influx of foreclosure filings.

"People were able to stave off foreclosure by borrowing money from friends and family or transferring balances to credit cards. But now there are more and more actual foreclosures taking place," Atwood said.

The same phenomenon has struck many U.S. cities in recent years, causing home values to plummet and wreaking havoc on local economies. But real estate agents in the Cedar Valley are not concerned the recent wave of foreclosures will similarly affect Black Hawk County's housing market.

"The foreclosures are not having a significant effect," said Gail Shinkle, past president and member of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Board of Realtors. "Most of the foreclosures we've seen here have been in the lower price range, and we really could use more listings on the market. We don't have enough houses on the market right now to accommodate the buyer." The Black Hawk County Abstract Company's data did not include the value of the foreclosed properties.

Single-family home prices in the Cedar Valley have continued to grow in recent years. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of homes sold in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has gained in each of the past three years.

Also, sales have gained steam in recent months. In the fourth quarter of 2007, 548 home were sold, topping the 501 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2006. It was the first time in three years fourth-quarter home sales showed improvement from the previous year. Home sales were down slightly each of the previous two years after six consecutive years of increases and sales figures not seen locally since the late 1970s.

Atwood said local lenders largely avoided the practices behind the subprime mortgage crisis fueling many foreclosures. But national lenders were "loose" in their requirements, and credit card companies have compounded the problem.

"Credit card companies are sending checks in the mail, and when people are getting close to their credit limit, they are increasing that limit," said Atwood. "That's the real uncontrolled aspect of all this. Local credit lenders tend to protect themselves, and others in so doing."

What effect, if any, foreclosures could have on Black Hawk County is not clear. Atwood believes it could lead to people leaving the area if they do not have homes to tie them down.

"When people no longer own, they really lose their roots," she said. "They no longer have a reason to keep up neighborhood ties. We may lose some good workers, because they want to own a home and don't want to be caught in this crisis again."

The $306,776 earmarked for the CCCS will be used to help those in threat of foreclosure, as well as for raising awareness of how to avoid financial peril in the first place, said Atwood.

"Many times people get depressed over foreclosure and don't do anything themselves until it's a crisis," said Atwood. "We try to intervene and make sure the person can make the payments. There are many instances where they just have to move, and we help them to do that, as well."

Contact Drew Andersen at (319) 291-1418 or drew.andersen@wcfcourier.com.