COLUMBUS -- The author of a new report said Ohio's rising rate of home foreclosures amounts to a crisis.

The study from a nonprofit group shows there were 79,000 foreclosure filings in the state last year, up 24 percent from 2005, and nearly five times the number seen in 1995.

Zach Schiller said Ohio home borrowers are in crisis. He authored the report for the nonprofit group Policy Matters Ohio and said it's likely there will be a further increase in foreclosures this year.

Leading the state in filings in 2006 was Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.

The study said the second-highest number was in Montgomery County, which includes Dayton.