Once a mainstay in the top five states with the highest foreclosure rates, California has dropped to 11th in the nation.
Daren Blomquist is with the foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac. He said about 17,000 properties got a foreclosure filing in May.
"And that 17,000 was down 60 percent from a year ago which now continues a string of year-over-year decreases in California we've seen for the past 18-months," Blomquist explained.
He said one reason foreclosure rates are down is that home values are up, helping homeowners on the edge of losing their property.
"If their home value is rising, that gives them another option to avoid foreclosure with a refinancing of that loan to get a lower payment or possibly selling the home," Blomquist said.
Florida had the country's highest foreclosure rate…followed by Nevada at number two and Ohio and number three.
