Foreclosures off 30% this year

On the surface, the foreclosure crisis seems to be easing. The number of foreclosure notices filed during the first three months of 2011 fell 27% compared with the first quarter of 2010, according to a report from RealtyTrac released Thursday.

Only 681,000 properties got hit with some type of filing -- a notice of default, a scheduled auction or a foreclosure sale -- during the quarter, one for every 191 households.

There were 215,046 borrowers who lost their homes, down 17% year-over-year.

That improvement was in sharp contrast to other recent housing market metrics, with sales of existing and new homes very weak and home prices still sliding. 

Source: CNNMoney.com