TAMPA - Far fewer people got hit with foreclosure papers last month in the Tampa Bay area, likely because so many banks halted foreclosures during the scandal over fraudulent documents.

In November, 5,842 homeowners in the Bay area received some type of foreclosure document, whether it was an initial foreclosure filing, notice of a foreclosure sale or notice that the home was going back to the lender.

That was down a huge 37 percent from October, when 9,294 local homeowners got served with foreclosure papers. It was also down 5 percent from the number of people who were served in November 2009, according to RealtyTrac, a website that sells foreclosed properties.

About one in every 267 Bay area households got some type of foreclosure document last month. RealtyTrac considers the Bay area to be Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties.

The slowdown in foreclosures seems to be a national trend. In November, foreclosure filings nationwide fell 21 percent.

Foreclosures usually fall a bit in November, so that could've caused some of the slowdown. But the scandal over improper foreclosure documents probably also caused it, according to RealtyTrac.

Major banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America halted foreclosures until they could make sure their paperwork was accurate.

The number of people who received initial foreclosure filings, known as "lis pendens," fell especially hard in the Bay area. Last month, 1,558 local homeowners got initial foreclosure documents, down 58 percent from October and down 63 percent from November 2009.