Broward County homes in some stage of foreclosure increased 12 percent in January from a year ago, according to the RealtyTrac Inc. listing firm.

While foreclosure filings fell 5 percent in Palm Beach County and 19 percent nationwide over the same period, the country's "frozen-up foreclosure process is beginning to thaw," Brandon Moore, chief executive of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.

Moore expects a rise in foreclosures during the next several months following last week's landmark settlement reached by 49 state attorneys general and five giant lenders.

"The settlement sets forth clear guidelines for lenders and servicers to follow when foreclosing, which should allow them to push through some of the delayed foreclosures from last year," he said.

Foreclosures slowed in 2011 after some bank employees, called "robo signers," admitted under oath that they signed off on thousands of cases without knowing the details.

That ultimately led to the settlement, which forces the lenders to modify mortgages and compensate homeowners who lost their homes through banks' improper foreclosure procedures.

Florida filings rose 14 percent from a year ago, the state's first annual increase since the robo-signing controversy started in late 2010, RealtyTrac said.

RealtyTrac, of Irvine, Calif., monitors public records for default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions on residential and commercial properties.

January was the second consecutive month in which Broward had an annual increase in filings. Palm Beach County has had seven straight months of year-over-year declines, but default notices countywide rose last month from January 2011.

Meanwhile, Florida leads the nation in mortgages "underwater" by at least 25 percent, RealtyTrac said. The Sunshine State has 2.6 million of those mortgages, and California is second with 2.1 million.

Nationally, 12.5 million mortgages are underwater by a minimum of 25 percent.