WASHINGTON (AP) -- A foreclosure listing firm says the foreclosure crisis is finally showing signs of easing, but it isn't all good news.
RealtyTrac says the number of households facing foreclosure last month fell 2 percent from a year ago. That's the first annual decline in five years.
While the delinquency rate is dropping, the number of borrowers losing their homes is still rising. Banks seized a record 92,000 homes last month.
RealtyTrac says almost 334,000 households, or one in every 387 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice last month. That was down more than 9 percent from March.
Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are the main catalysts for foreclosures this year. Initially, lax lending standards were the culprit, but homeowners with good credit who took out conventional, fixed-rate loans are now the fastest growing group of foreclosures.
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