Home foreclosures continued to drop in Southern California in March, with rates in the greater Valley varying widely, according to a report released Thursday. There were 8,438 foreclosures in the six-county region, down nearly 23 percent from the same month last year, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine real estate data firm. On a month-to-month basis, the rate rose about 9 percent since February. In Los Angeles County, one in every 3,433 homes was in foreclosure during the month. Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said March was the 42nd consecutive month during which U.S. foreclosure activity fell from a year ago. That has pushed financial institutions to complete foreclosures that have languished in the pipeline. “Now that the foreclosure deluge has dried up, banks are turning their attention back to properties that have been sitting in foreclosure limbo for some time,” he said in a statement. In the greater Valley, Palmdale again topped the list, with foreclosures in one out of every 383 homes. The other major Antelope Valley city of Lancaster also continued to struggle, with one out of every 438 homes in foreclosure. Other Valley communities with high foreclosure rates include Sylmar, with one in every 508 homes; Pacoima, with one in every 582; and Sunland with one in every 618. Among Valley communities with few foreclosures were Sherman Oaks, with one in every 2,316 homes; Burbank, with one in every 1,531; and La Canada-Flintridge, with one in every 1,209.
