Foreclosures in 178 U.S. cities dropped in the first half of 2011 compared with the same six months of 2010, online marketplace RealtyTrac said Thursday.
The RealtyTrac report that covers 211 cities with populations of more than 200,000 said all 10 cities that comprised the highest foreclosure rates January through June of 2010 saw declines over the same period of 2011.
Three states -- California, Nevada and Arizona -- were home to all 10 cities with the Top 10 highest foreclosure rates and home to 15 of the Top 20.
One Florida city, Cape Coral-Fort Myer, was No. 12 on the list -- the only Florida city among the Top 20. A year ago, Florida had the dubious honor of having nine cities listed among the 20 highest foreclosure rates.
"Foreclosure activity continued to slow in the first half of 2011, especially in the most foreclosure-saturated markets and in markets where the judicial foreclosure process is used," James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.
The entire list of the Top 20 cities with the largest year-to-year declines in foreclosure activity was comprised of cities from New York, Maryland, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois -- all states that mandate foreclosure go through a process in court.
Saccacio said the figures "indicate the foreclosure pipeline continues to be clogged in many local markets across the country," a result of lenders putting the brakes on foreclosures after the short-cut on paperwork scandal broke in 2010.