No matter who's counting, foreclosures up in El Paso County

Foreclosure statistics assembled by California-based RealtyTrac Inc., an on-line service, have been criticized by Colorado Division of Housing officials. They say RealtyTrac counts foreclosures multiple times and therefore inflates state and local numbers; that's one reason Colorado has shown up in the past as the worst foreclosure state in RealtyTrac's research, Housing Division officials have said. The latest RealtyTrac numbers for Colorado Springs seem to bear out the concern of state officials. On Sept. 18, RealtyTrac reported a total of 617 foreclosures in August for Colorado Springs and El Paso County, a 46.6 percent increase over the 421 foreclosures in the same month last year. RealtyTrac has said its figures include homes in various stages of foreclosure. By comparison, the El Paso County Public Trustee's office reported 307 newly filed foreclosure notices in August in the county, up 20.4 percent from 255 during the same month last year. No matter who compiles the numbers, however, there's no doubt foreclosures are on the rise.