In September, the national foreclosure rate hit a five-year low with only 180,247 filings. This means that there has been a seven percent decrease in foreclosures from the month of August and a 16 percent drop from September 2011. These numbers prove that the economy may be slowly improving in the United States. According to the Press Enterprise, these recent numbers were released by RealtyTrac on Thursday and prove that the volume of foreclosures across the United States is at its lowest point since July 2007. While some states still struggle with foreclosures, even the worst are seeing improvements. In California, a state that is rampant with foreclosure, the starts for September dropped 18 percent from August. Compared to the amount of foreclosures filed one year ago, California’s rate has dropped an impressive 45 percent.

The RealtyTrac vice president, Daren Blomquist, says that the company has been waiting for another dip in foreclosure rates for some time. Georgia, Texas, Michigan, and Arizona have all also seen a drop in the amount of foreclosures and are on track to allowing families to spend more time in their homes. Unfortunately, some states have seen their foreclosure rates go up in the past month. These states include Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and New York. At Chapman University, economist Esmael Adibi said that he expected numbers to go down nationally this year because there has been some stabilization in home prices. He says that the stable costs are helping people to make payments faithfully and avoid defaulting on their mortgages. He says that banks are also making a grander attempt to avoid foreclosure and are even allowing restructuring and reduction rates to help keep families in their homes.

While California has seen a drop in first-time foreclosures, the state has led the nation when it comes to new filings. In Los Angeles County alone, there were 7,811 new filings last month as people struggled to pay their mortgages and failed to do so. Blomquist says that he sees a roller-coaster pattern for foreclosure activity in bankrupt states like California. At present, the state is trying to change the rules for property and foreclosure by creating new rules to eliminate “dual-tracking.” The new provisions in the California Homeowner’s Bill of Rights will take place on January 1^st, 2013. Some real estate experts believe that there will be a backlog of foreclosures in states that are changing their homeowner’s laws as they try to adjust to the new statutes.

Real estate experts say that many foreclosures are due to low employment rates in states where times are hard. For example, in California the Inland region has a 12.3 unemployment rate. This high rate accounts for many foreclosures, because individuals without a mortgage have a hard time trying to make their payments. Those without a job often fall into debt as they try to keep up the cost of living, and eventually this can lead to a foreclosure. If you are worried that you will default on your mortgage, you may be able to battle the inevitable by filing for bankruptcy. If you do this your creditors, including your mortgage company, will not be able to take any further action until after you have emerged from bankruptcy protection. No matter what your situation, if you have questions about foreclosure or are in a complicated spot, then contact a real estate lawyer today. An attorney listed on this directory that is located near you can help you to sort through real estate complications regarding foreclosure, mortgages, and other homeowner concerns!