TAMPA - The pace of foreclosures has slowed, but filings in two local counties rose in January, while filings declined in the other two counties.

There were 6,081 filings - default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions - in the Tampa area in January, according to Calif.-based RealtyTrac. That's up 5 percent from the previous month but down 2 percent from the same time last year. RealtyTrac includes Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando and Pasco counties in its report for the Tampa area.

Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, which accounted for 4,752 of the filings, jumped 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from December's filings. In Hernando and Pasco counties, filings fell 9 percent 19 percent, respectively.

"We're seeing nearby counties with different trends all over the country," said Daren Blomquist, spokesman for RealtyTrac. "We're getting close to hitting the peak in foreclosures, at least in the Tampa Bay area."

Meanwhile, Florida's foreclosure rate of one filing for every 187 households was the fourth highest in the nation. There were 47,069 filings in Florida in January, down 15 percent from December but up 15 percent from the same month last year.

Nationwide, foreclosure activity dropped 10 percent from December but was still up 15 percent from January last year. The report showed that one in every 409 US households received a foreclosure filing in January.

"January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago: a double-digit percentage jump in December foreclosure activity followed by a 10 percent drop in January," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac.

"If history repeats itself, we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives work."

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.