Honolulu ranked second-lowest among the top 100 major U.S. metropolitan areas for home foreclosures in the first quarter, though actions by lenders to reclaim property were up from the same quarter last year, according to a new report.

The report by Irvine, Calif.-based real estate research firm RealtyTrac said there were 155 foreclosure filings against homes in the City and County of Honolulu between January and March, up from 102 filings a year earlier.

Honolulu's 52 percent increase was less than half the 112 percent rise in foreclosure filings on average for the 100 metro markets.

At one foreclosure filing per 2,147 households, Honolulu ranked behind the Pennsylvania region of Allentown/Bethlehem /Easton where there were 25 filings, or one per 12,328 households.

RealtyTrac's count provides more geographic detail of the local foreclosure picture compared with a monthly RealtyTrac count by state, but is still a somewhat imprecise measure of homes threatened by foreclosure.

Data collected by the firm includes a range of document filings in the foreclosure process, from default notices to auction notices, so the data may include more than one filing on the same property.

But Hawai'i foreclosure actions may be underrepresented because default notices typically aren't filed publicly in nonjudicial foreclosures, which are more prevalent in Hawai'i compared with many other states. Still, RealtyTrac does count nonjudicial foreclosure sale notices.

Though O'ahu's housing market is cooling, there are relatively few foreclosures thanks to a relatively stable job market and median home prices. Also, new home construction didn't flood the market with inventory, and local lenders say local borrowers didn't take out as many of the riskier loans as their counterparts in some Mainland markets.

RealtyTrac said metro areas in California and Florida accounted for 13 of the top 20 foreclosure rates. Ninety of 100 metro markets saw foreclosure activity increase in the quarter.