New Jersey foreclosure filings doubled in the last year, creating a 163% spike in the number of backlogged cases that are at least one year old, according to a new report from the New Jersey Judiciary.

Property owners filed 4,075 foreclosure actions between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, a 97% increase from the 2,066 actions filed the prior year, according to the report.

New Jersey courts work to complete foreclosure proceedings within a year, but because of the onslaught of new cases, the backlog of those not completed within 12 months stood at 408 cases, according to the report.

The recent implementation of a statewide electronic system for foreclosure filings should help position the judiciary to address the dramatic growth of the foreclosure caseload. The electronic filing system for foreclosure actions went live July 1.

New Jersey is one of several states that have issued mandatory mediation programs. The New Jersey courts initiated a statewide program in 2008. Under the program, volunteer mediators help homeowners and lenders renegotiate the mortgage terms and potentially avoid the filing of a foreclosure action. New Jersey courts require mediation in all contested owner-occupied foreclosure actions.

In uncontested cases, or cases where the homeowner fails to respond to the lender, the court notifies the homeowner that a mediation program exists and encourages voluntary participation.

For the first half of 2010, New Jersey ranked among the top 10 states in terms of the total number of foreclosure filings with 36,542, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosure data nationwide. One of every 96 homes in New Jersey had a foreclosure filing during the first half of the year, according to RealtyTrac, up nearly 52% from the same six-month period a year ago, but down 17.4% from the previous six months.

Write to Kerry Curry.