I'd call the news mixed from the foreclosure front: They were high in August -- 5,298 cases in the Tampa Bay area alone -- but that was down from 5,904 in August 2007 and 5,918 in July of this year.

The biggest improvement came in Pasco County, which had 37 percent fewer foreclosure cases this August than last. I live in Pasco and suspect the reason for the rosier scenario there is the huge price concessions you see. Banks are dumping lots of houses via short sale.

The Tampa Bay area ranked 34th in the nation in foreclosures, with such mortgage default affecting one in 244 households. We're pikers compared to Cape Coral-Fort Myers, which ranked sixth.

All these stats come from RealtyTrac. Most local foreclosure cases (3,676) were "lis pendens," which is when the bank first files suit against a homeowner after what is usually several months of missed payments.

Another 1,027 cases were sale notices, when banks announce they'll auction the property. Another 588 cases were homes confiscated by the bank. Not too pretty, but take heart that RealtyTrac counts each foreclosure filing on single properties as if they are different properties. So the numbers are exaggerated. I'd suggest the lis pendens are most telling, though a majority of these homes will not go full foreclosure.

Here's a spreadsheet with more details if your computer can read Microsoft Excel: Download realtytracaug.xls

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