The greater Miami area posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate among large urban areas in February, as one in every 219 homes received some type of foreclosure filing, according to RealtyTrac.

The metro Miami area covers Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach.

Statewide, Florida showed the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for the sixth consecutive month in February, with one in every 282 homes logging some type of foreclosure filing during the month, the Irvine, Calif.-based data firm said.

RealtyTrac tracks default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

The barrage of foreclosure activity comes even as Miami and Florida have been logging strong sales and price increases, underscoring a recovering housing market.

Seven of the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rates were in Florida in February. Miami, Orlando, Ocala, Tampa and the Palm Bay metro areas claimed the top five spots, RealtyTrac said.

The firm said 31,726 Florida properties had some type of foreclosure filing during February. That was a 6-percent increase from January and a 20-percent increase from February 2012, marking a 16-month high.

The spike in foreclosure activity in Florida follows the big regulatory settlement last spring in the robo-signing cases. Forty-nine state attorneys general settled litigation against five big mortgages banks over improper foreclosure tactics, providing a clearer path for lenders to press cases that had been stalled.