(compiled from Foreclosure Radar, May 17, 2011)

Foreclosure filings in California fell to lows not seen since the fall of 2008.

Notice of Default filings were down 28.5 per cent.

Notice of Trustee Sale filings fell 10.9 percent from March, 2011.

Notice of Trustee Sale filings fell 31.2 percent from April 2010.

Foreclosure sale cancellations rose 27.0 percent from March. Activity on the courthouse steps slowed from the prior month, with 17.2 percent fewer sales Back to Bank and a 15.8 percent drop in properties purchased by 3rd Parties, typically investors.

The average time to foreclose continued to climb, increasing 3.3 percent to 312 days.

Foreclosure Outcomes—After the filing of a Notice of Trustee Sale, there are only three possible outcomes. First, the sale can be cancelled for reasons that include a successful loan modification or short sale, a filing error, or a legal requirement to re-file the notice after extended postponements. Alternatively, if the property is taken to sale, the bank will place the opening bid. If a 3rd party, typically an investor, bids more than the bank’s opening bid, the property will be sold to 3rd party; if not, it will go back to the bank and become part of that bank’s REO inventory.