REAL ESTATE : Foreclosures Up 17.7% This Year, but State Increase Is Higher

Foreclosures of homes and commercial properties in Orange County during the first eight months of 1994 increased 17.7% from the same period last year, according to a data company.

Still, Orange County compares favorably with the rest of the state, where foreclosures were up more than 19% this year from 1993, according to statistics compiled by TRW Redi Property Data in Riverside. Statewide, lenders foreclosed on more than 42,000 residential and commercial properties from January to August. The combined mortgage value of those properties was $8.6 billion.

Though the number of distressed properties is rising in many parts of the state, the rate of increase has slowed drastically, TRW Redi found. From 1992 to 1993, for example, foreclosures jumped by more than 70% statewide.

During the first eight months of this year in Los Angeles, foreclosures were up 21.7% from the same period last year, TRW said.