RealtyTrac, a provider of real estate data, reported Wednesday that foreclosure activity in Florida jumped to its highest level this year, with 16,533 properties entering foreclosure in August, 50 percent more than the previous month.

Broward County ranked third in the nation among major metropolitan areas for the most homes entering some stage of foreclosure -- one for every 174 households, the company said.

South Florida homeowners for months have felt the crush of rising insurance premiums, gas prices and interest rates, among other inflationary pressures, so it's not surprising they'd be having trouble making their house payments.

The Boca Raton-based company reported just 290 foreclosures statewide for August. In Broward, just 13. On nationwide statistics, the companies diverged even further.

The difference boils down to how the companies count foreclosures, a usually lengthy process in which the lender takes legal action to gain title to a property when an owner has missed several mortgage payments.

RealtyTrac includes in its data so-called pre-foreclosures -- when a lender files its intention to foreclose at the courthouse. These often are resolved before a homeowner loses the property.

''There is definitely a slowing in the economy, but foreclosure rates really haven't jumped that high in the state of Florida,'' said Brad Geisen, CEO of Foreclosure.com.

Florida real estate has surged in value over the last several years. While prices may be settling, many homeowners have built significant equity in their homes, enough to be able to refinance or pay off their mortgages by selling, Geisen said.

Nonetheless, Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing for RealtyTrac, says his firm's data represent a truer indicator of economic conditions -- people falling behind on their loan payments in greater numbers.

Nearly 60 percent of mortgages that enter default are resolved or sold before a foreclosure auction action, Sharga said, adding that about half of the remaining 40 percent are bought by a third party and half are repossessed by the banks.

RealtyTrac reported 115,292 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during August, an increase of nearly 53 percent from the same time last year, the second highest monthly foreclosure rate reported year to date.

Sharga says his numbers mirror data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association, which reported a small uptick in the percentage of mortgages entering foreclosure, or seriously delinquent.

According to the MBA, most of the increases are among sub-prime loans -- loans with higher than average interest rates usually offered to those with troubled credit -- and especially sub-prime loans with adjustable interest rates. Those rates have risen recently.

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