Distressed Manatee homes up 82%

After several months of up and down numbers, the foreclosure market in Manatee and Sarasota counties rose significantly in October.

The rise was stark in Manatee County, where there were 644 foreclosures in October, according to RealtyTrac. That was up 82% from September, and 31% from October 2011. In Sarasota, meanwhile, there were 740 foreclosures in October, up 34% from September. The one piece of good news: The October 2012 foreclosures in Sarasota are down 3% from October 2011.

RealtyTrac, a real estate data firm that monitors foreclosures nationwide, says a large portion of the total default figures in both counties stems from early stage foreclosure filings.

That's true statewide, too, where Florida was No. 1 in the country in foreclosure per capita in October, with one in every 312 houses in some stage of official distress, according to RealtyTrac. Nevada, Illinois, California and Arizona followed Florida.