California foreclosure activity continued to fall during the second quarter of the year as fewer homeowners fell behind in their mortgage payments.
Dataquick, which tracks the state's housing market, said lenders issued just over 25,000 notices of default. That's the first step in a long foreclosure process.
That amount of notices is the second lowest quarterly number in seven years and well below the peak of more than 135,000 notices in the first quarter of 2009.
"Big picture is, the economy continues to gain traction, which means more people are finding jobs, fewer people are losing jobs. Home values are increasing. That gives people options," said Andrew LaPage, an analyst for Dataquick.
Mortgage defaults are concentrated in the state's least expensive neighborhoods, according to LaPage.
Most of the loans going into default originated between 2005 and 2007. LaPage said those mortgages were written just before the housing bubble popped.
