There were 872 foreclosure-related filings against property statewide in November. That was more than double the 393 filings in the same month last year, but lower than the prior two months and the July high of 990.

The figures, from California-based real estate research firm RealtyTrac, are only a rough indication of foreclosures in Hawai'i, partly because they include filings at various stages of the foreclosure process, which can result in counting action on the same property in different months.

RealtyTrac counts initial default notices, auction announcements and lender repossessions.

Most of the filings last month were auction announcements, which represented 580 of the 872 filings.

Lender repossessions represented 196 filings in November.

There were 96 default notices, typically the start of the foreclosure process. A year earlier, there were 76 default notices.

Local foreclosure attorneys believe default notices tallied by RealtyTrac underrepresent foreclosure starts because most foreclosures in Hawai'i are handled outside court where default notices typically aren't publicly available.

The general concensus among local foreclosure experts is that the number of people falling behind on mortgage payments will keep growing as job layoffs, furloughs and wage cuts continue.

Demand from home buyers in Hawai'i has been growing in recent months, but depressed prices and relatively few sales still present a challenge for people who need to sell their homes for prices that would allow them to avoid foreclosure — especially those who bought at or near the peak of the market a few years ago with exotic mortgages that are now resetting to higher payments.

Compared with other states, Hawai'i's foreclosure rate was 15th-worst in the nation, with one filing for every 581 households, but was still better than the national rate of one filing per 417 households.

The worst rate was in Nevada, where 9,295 foreclosure filings equated to one for every 119 households. The best rate was in Vermont, where 16 filings equated to one for every 19,465 households.

Hawai'i has consistently been in the bottom half of RealtyTrac's national foreclosure rankings since March, partly because home prices in other states crashed earlier and are now improving, while the local housing market has experienced a more moderate downturn that lingers on.

RealtyTrac also includes commercial property, including condominium-hotel units and timeshares, in its foreclosure report, which can elevate Hawai'i's count compared with states that don't have large tourism or commercial real estate industries.

By county, Honolulu, or O'ahu, had the most filings — 370 — but the lowest rate at one filing for every 905 households.

Kaua'i had the next best rate, with 77 filings representing one per 379 households.

On the Big Island, there were 228 filings, or one per 341 households.

Maui had 197 filings, or one per 330 households.