A four-county area that includes Des Moines and West Des Moines is experiencing a higher rate of mortgage foreclosures than the remainder of the state, according to a real estate tracking service.

First American CoreLogic reported that the foreclosure rate in the area that includes Dallas, Madison, Polk and Warren counties was 1.8 percent in June, higher than the 1.5 percent rate for the entire state but lower than the national rate of 2.63 percent.

Foreclosure rates locally and for the entire state each inched up 0.3 percentage points from June 2008, the report said.

From July 2008 to June, there were 5,611 foreclosure filings in what First American calls the Des Moines-West Des Moines area, compared with 3,658 filings from July 2007 to June 2008.

First American tracks notices of default, notices of foreclosure sale and notifications of final sale.

The mortgage delinquency rate also has increased to 4 percent for mortgages that were 90 days in arrears in June for the Des Moines-West Des Moines area, compared with 2.8 percent in June 2008. Statewide, the 90-day delinquency rate was 3.3 percent in June, compared with 2.5 percent in June 2008. Nationally, the delinquency rate was 6.72 percent in June, compared with 4.12 percent in June 2008.

First American bases its reports on the actual number of active mortgages as opposed to a survey of households, thereby eliminating paid-in-full mortgages from their data.