You never know when foreclosures are up or down in this market. Actually, even despite the market, foreclosures can be up, and at the same time they can be down.

Are you confused? You should be.

Take one of the latest foreclosure articles as an example. This article, titled “foreclosure rates up 25 percent year-over-year,” describes how ” more than 279,500 U.S. homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in October (an increase of 5 percent over September).” The article written by Adrian Sanz was published in Yahoo news on November 13, 2008.

In this specific case, the important figure is that foreclosures increased 5 percent in October from September of 2008. The article continues to state that the information is according to Realty Trac, Inc., a regular in the media limelight.

However, another article, from a competitor, has a different take on the current foreclosure trend. According to an article in Market Watch titled, “U.S. Foreclosures Index: October Foreclosures Drop Dramatically to Near 2008 Lows,” foreclosures did something completely different. The article published on November 10, 2008 is a press release from Foreclosures.com, a competing foreclosure listing service.

According to the ForeclosureS.com article, “foreclosures fell for the second month in a row in October to nationwide lows not seen since last February.” The article continues by stating that the current numbers are lower by “nearly 7% from September’s high.”

Considering both articles, foreclosures either increased 5 percent or decreased 7 percent, a difference of 12 percent. An even greater difference lies in that fact that either foreclosures are getting better or they are getting worse. This fact should at least be further investigated as the numbers are reverberated throughout the US economy and indirectly influences consumer confidence. In addition, the media should we wary of reporting such figures as one or both of the articles are completely false.