TAMPA - Florida's foreclosure activity dropped for the fourth straight month in January, hitting the lowest level since July 2007.

But Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which monitors the data, said the decrease is part of a temporary stall, and Florida foreclosures will likely jump one more time before stabilizing latter this fall, said Darren Blomquist, spokesman for the company.

"We're still on the roller coaster," Blomquist said. "We think things will change again within the next few months."

Florida activity – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – fell 15 percent from December and 54 percent from January last year.

Even so, the state's 21,671 properties receiving a foreclosure filing was still the second highest amount in the nation.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area had 3,497 properties with a foreclosure filing January. That's down 10 percent from the previous month and 42 percent from last year.

"This is an abnormal drop off in activity," Blomquist said. "It can't be explained by just the housing market getting better."

RealtyTrac attributes the decrease to the national "robo-signing" scandal, in which lenders and lawyers signed foreclosure documents without verifying their accuracy. Several lenders halted foreclosure for a time, and now judges are scrutinizing foreclosures.

"Judges are throwing cases back and lenders fired major attorneys in Florida," Blomquist said. "That's stalled everything."

The drop made Florida's overall foreclosure rate fall as well. The Sunshine State now ranks No. 9 among all states. It's been consistently in the top five for years.

Nationwide, there were 261,333 U.S. properties in January, a 1 percent increase from the previous month but a 17 percent decrease from last year.

Nevada, Arizona, California posted the top state foreclosure rates.

Nevada bank repossessions increased 16 percent from the previous month. The state has held the nation's highest foreclosure rate for 49 straight months

Arizona foreclosure activity increased 16 percent from the previous month, but is still down 25 percent from January 2010.

California took back 32 percent fewer homes than the previous month, and the state posted the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in January were Idaho, Utah, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois and Colorado.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com. Follow her on Twitter @TBORealtyCheck.