Some good news on the real estate front in southwest Florida: the rate of foreclosures in the region is down from a year ago. The Sarasota-Manatee area fell from 4.31 percent last June to 2.13 percent this year. Charlotte County dropped from 5.18 percent to 2.44 percent. The bad news, though: Charlotte County still posted the 35th-highest foreclosure rate in the nation out of 401 metro areas measured. Sarasota-Manatee ranked 51st. Both areas still fared better than the state average, which sits at 2.79 percent, and the national rate of 3.51 percent.
