INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Reversing a trend of spiking foreclosures in neighboring counties, the number of homeowners in Indian River County hearing bad news from their banks dipped in February.In all 349 county homes received either a default notice, scheduled auction or bank repossession in February, down from 416 in January, according to figures released by the Web site RealtyTrac. While RealtyTrac lists the foreclosure trend in the county as falling, in a year-to-year comparison the county saw just 215 homeowners in trouble with their bank in February of 2009. Foreclosure activity surged in St. Lucie and Martin counties. In St. Lucie County foreclosure activity jumped from 833 homes in January to 1,411 last month, while in Martin activity increased from 208 to 316 homes.According to RealtyTrac figures 1 in every 221 homes in Indian River County received some sort of foreclosure filing in February. Of the 349 homes identified by RealtyTrac, 287 were listed in Vero Beach 54 in Sebastian and 8 were in Fellsmere.Overall, Florida ranks second in the country behind California in foreclosure activity.
