REAL ESTATE

Foreclosures Go Up: Orange County housing foreclosures jumped 11.1% during the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to Dataquick Information Systems.

An estimated 3,108 homes in Orange County were foreclosed on during that time, compared to 2,797 homes the previous year, Dataquick said. The Southern California region had an 8% increase in foreclosures during the first four months, while Los Angeles County showed a 6.8% increase.

“Foreclosure activity is a so-called lagging indicator and what we’re seeing here is year-old distress. Most lenders try to work things out with their borrowers and wait as long as they can before they start the formal foreclosure process,” said Donald L. Cohn, chief executive of Dataquick in San Diego.

The state’s foreclosure problem is still most severe in Southern California, Dataquick found, especially in Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles counties.