Foreclosures Down, but Don't Cheer Yet

Foreclosure activity has fallen to a 40-month low, but not because of any recovery in the housing market, a new report finds. Rather, the slowdown comes from massive delays in processing foreclosure paperwork.

In April, overall foreclosure filings - including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - declined for the seventh month straight to 219,258, a 9 percent decrease from March and a 34 percent decrease from April of last year. Banks seized 69,532 homes last month, a 5 percent drop from March, according to data provider RealtyTrac.