Hawai'i home foreclosure filings nearly tripled in July from the same month last year, though the number of cases remains moderate and the increase was lower than several other spikes over the past 12 months.

There were 229 foreclosure filings statewide last month, up 169 percent from 85 filings in July 2007, according to California-based real estate research firm RealtyTrac.

The percentage point increase was the biggest since filings soared 218 percent in April, and followed increases of around 20 percent in May and June.

Hawai'i's foreclosure count has consistently risen since June 2007 by anywhere from 19 percent to 414 percent in one month over the year-ago month.

Despite the growing number of distressed homeowners, the local real estate market has remained relatively healthy compared with many Mainland locales where plummeting home values, glutted inventories and weak buyer demand have in some cases contributed to waves of foreclosures that erode property tax bases and drain municipal budgets.

There was one foreclosure filing per 2,184 households in Hawai'i, representing the 11th lowest rate among states. Over the past 12 months, Hawai'i has ranged from sixth lowest to 15th lowest.

Nationally, the number of foreclosure filings was up 55 percent in July to 272,171, or one filing per 464 households.

The worst foreclosure rate measured by RealtyTrac was in Nevada, where there were 10,060 filings, or one for every 106 households.

The best rate was in Vermont, where there were five filings, or one per 61,911 households.

Hawai'i's foreclosure count of 229 filings in July was a record for any month since Realtytrac began counting filings in 2006. In July 2006, there were 53 foreclosure filings.

But during the state's housing slump in the mid-1990s, there were typically 300 to 400 foreclosure cases filed per month.

The historical comparison is muddied somewhat because most Hawai'i foreclosure cases in recent years occur outside court, which makes cases more difficult to track.

Some local attorneys estimate that nonjudicial foreclosures represent as much as 90 percent of all foreclosures in Hawai'i.

RealtyTrac's data includes nonjudicial foreclosure sale notices, but the company's count could overstate or understate the number of actual foreclosures. That's because RealtyTrac counts a range of document filings that include default notices and auction notices, which means more than one filing on the same property may be counted.

Also, auction notices are typically publicized for three consecutive weeks. But RealtyTrac also may miss counting nonjudicial default notices that typically aren't published.

Industry observers say Hawai'i has avoided a dangerous level of foreclosures because home prices have remained roughly stable and because local borrowers generally didn't take out as many risky loans as in some Mainland markets, where interest rates resetting at dramatically higher rates have created a deluge of foreclosures.

Also, the state's limited land supply and restrictive development rules prevented developers from oversaturating the market with unsold new homes, while unemployment and personal income remain healthy despite local economic growth heading to a near standstill.