Foreclosures in Los Angeles surged 19 percent in August, with more than 1,200 properties entering foreclosure during the month, but L.A. still managed to boast the lowest foreclosure rate among the nation’s five largest metropolitan areas for the fifth consecutive month, said Irvine-based property database company RealtyTrac.

Los Angeles reported 1,232 foreclosures in August, or one foreclosure for every 2,655 households. The city’s foreclosure rate was nearly half the national average and a bit lower than the state average, said RealtyTrac.

In its August Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, RealtyTrac said that despite L.A.’s increase in foreclosures, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas all had steeper foreclosure rates than Los Angeles. Foreclosures increased in all of the major metropolitan areas except for Dallas-Fort Worth, RealtyTrac said.

“While the foreclosure rate in Los Angeles is still low compared to other major cities, the city’s foreclosure numbers have trended upward over the past three months,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac. “Since May, when there were only 771 foreclosures, the city has reported more than 1,000 foreclosures each month.”

With one foreclosure for every 1,198 households, the foreclosure rate in Riverside County jumped to more than two times the state average. The county reported 488 foreclosure properties in August, a 41 percent increase. San Bernardino County foreclosures increased for the second straight month, with 453 properties entering some stage of foreclosure – a 3.2 percent increase. With one foreclosure for every 1,328 households, the county’s foreclosure rate was 1.9 times the state average.

Orange County foreclosures dipped 9 percent in August, with 213 properties entering some stage of foreclosure. The county recorded one foreclosure for every 4,552 households.

Statewide, 4,810 properties entered some stage of foreclosure or were foreclosed on in August, a 21 percent increase from July. But with one foreclosure for every 2,539 households, California’s foreclosure rate was still lower than the national average

Nationwide, foreclosures slipped 4.3 percent in August after two straight months of increases. Still, August’s foreclosure numbers were higher than any other month except for July. A total of 75,599 properties entered some stage of foreclosure, or one for every 1,530 households, RealtyTrac said.