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Permits for new single-family homes in unincorporated Lee County increased last month and foreclosures dropped, albeit by a very small amount.

According to the Lee County Community Development department, 80 permits were pulled for May, compared to 47 in April. However, in May 2007, 301 permits were issued, said Joan LaGuardia, a department spokeswoman. The information includes Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach, which contracts with the county to provide permitting services.

The number of permits for multi-family structures also increased from 22 in April to 28 in May. In May 2007, 102 multi-family permits were pulled, she said.

The value of new commercial building permits increased from $5.5 million in April to $21.2 million in May. But that is only half of what was issued in May 2007, which saw $41.8 million in permits issued, she said.

Between Jan. 1 and May 31 of this year, the total number of permits issued was 8,031, compared to 13,968 for the same time in 2007, LaGuardia said.

“That includes all permits,” she said. “All the big building and trade permits, like roofing, electrical. It could be a shed or shutters.”

Lee County Clerk of Courts Charlie Green says his office has seen a steadying of the number of foreclosures filed.

For May, which had 21 working days, 2,356 foreclosures were filed, compared to 2,478 in April, which had 22 working days. In March, 2,354 were filed, while February’s number, the most-ever, was 2,463 during 21 working days.

“So the actual number per day has gone down,” Green said. “It’s leveled off so I’m saying the peak was in February.

“I thought it would drop a little faster,” he said.

RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, Calif., based foreclosure marketing company, reported that the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area was No. 5 on its list of cities with high foreclosure rates. The company tracks foreclosures and companion legal filings throughout the country and lists them the middle of each month on its Web site, www.realtytrac.com.

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E-mail Valli Finney at vallimfinney@yahoo.com