The data are counts of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the year. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the year may correspond to the previous year. Data are collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. The data count documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: default or notice of default, and lis pendens; auction or notice of trustee sale and notice of foreclosure sale; and real estate owned properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). If more than one foreclosure document is received for a property during the year, only the most recent filing is counted.