Over the last few months Foreclosure Research has provided several articles pointing out the discrepancies in reporting for different foreclosure companies. The discrepancies are most likely due to the fact that foreclosure information is spread out across all platforms and is truly illusive in nature.

The reality is, foreclosures are so hard to track that some foreclosure listing companies are even using their competitor’s data for uses in press release articles. Take REOSphere for example. REOSphere is based in Minnesota and provides REO listings for the St. Paul and Minneapolis area.

According to a recent press release published on September 23, 2008, the company reported the exact same percent increase (down to the tenth of a decimal) as Realty Trac when providing statistics for Minnesota.

The press release by REOSphere stated that foreclosures in Minnesota increased 119.7 percent from the second quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2008. According to Realty Trac’s quarterly report, foreclosures increase by that exact percentage, for that exact period of time.

Based on past Foreclosure Research articles and investigations, the chances of two foreclosure listings companies having the exact same figures for a certain time period, for an entire state, are slim to none. This is especially rare for a time period as long as a year.

Yet, it does not stop at one statistic, which could be a coincidence; the release is full of Realty Trac figures. According to the press release, Minnesota ranked 27th in the country, exactly the same rank as Realty Trac gave the state. While there is no reference to Real Trac, REOSphere wouldn’t even have the resources available to rank the entire state as it only has information for the capital city.

Considering this, REOSphere continued to use Realty Trac’s information even on the areas of REOSphere expertise- the Minneapolis/St. Paul area- with Realty Trac ranking Minneapolis, St. Paul as 59 in the top 100 metro areas.

While using a competitor’s data without a reference may be one issue in itself, another issue is that fact that there is no control over whether or not that data is true. According to last week’s foreclosure research article, “Rural Areas Don’t Count,” Realty Trac gave testament to the fact that they do not focus on rural areas or areas with less than 25,000 in population.

Based on information by the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota has at least 49 counties with less than 25,000 in population. So, to add insult to injury, not only is the company using a competitor’s data, but that data is also most likely inaccurate.