As forclosures around the country have become a serious reality for many neighborhoods, new homeowners are finding some great deals. And, the Roanoke area is not an exception to this, according to the Roanoke Times.

"Angela Batey's sales were sluggish until she began helping people buy homes lost to foreclosures this year.

Now, the Roanoke real estate agent's business is hopping with all kinds of buyers hunting for deals.

'I'm busier than I have ever been,' said Batey, who represents buyers in many kinds of home transactions for Gracious Living Realty in Roanoke. She estimated that at least 80 percent of her sales are from bank-owned properties that have been through foreclosure.

The hardships of homeowners in the Roanoke and New River valleys are erupting into a flood of foreclosure filings, an indication that the region's housing woes are far from over.

The abundance of lender-owned homes on the market is forcing real estate prices down across the country and paving the way for some buyers to snatch tremendous deals.

Foreclosure filings in the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area rose 590 percent from January through August of this year, compared with 2008, according to RealtyTrac, a California-based online service that tracks foreclosures. The Roanoke MSA includes the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke."

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