Mortgage lenders stayed busy initiating foreclosure cases against Hawaii property owners last month in state court, according to data released by the state Judiciary this week.

The Judiciary said there were 378 new foreclosure cases filed in Circuit Court statewide in June, up from 209 in the same month last year.

Last month’s count was second highest this year after 404 in March, and third highest since a May 2011 change to state foreclosure that prompted lenders to file all cases in court instead of going through an out-of-court process that had been the preferred method for many years.

The state figures contrast with a report released two weeks ago by real estate research firm RealtyTrac that said there were 73 default notices representing new cases filed in June. RealtyTrac doesn’t count new foreclosure cases filed in court if a foreclosure was previously counted when started out of court.

Hawaii’s foreclosure law overhaul last year, known as Act 48, halted all pending out-of-court, or nonjudicial, foreclosure cases and forced lenders to start cases anew under a revamped nonjudicial process or in court. Lenders opted for court because they felt the amended nonjudicial rules exposed them to unfair risks.

RealtyTrac also counts foreclosure auction notices and repossessions by lenders to give a broad gauge of foreclosure activity. By that measure, RealtyTrac said foreclosure activity last month sank to its lowest level for any month since June 2008.

Foreclosures initiated by homeowner or condominium associations, which typically are used to recoup unpaid maintenance fees or other debts, aren’t counted by RealtyTrac. The associations continue to use nonjudicial foreclosure, so such cases would not be counted by the Judiciary, either.