But don't celebrate just yet. Many Florida metropolitan areas, including Tampa, saw foreclosures rise for the month.

"The big drop-off is really mostly a result of processing problems with lenders, not a market recovery," said Daren Blomquist with RealtyTrac. "We expect the number to bounce back shortly."

Foreclosure activity fell just 0.31 percent in Florida from March to April and increased 9 percent in the Tampa metro area, which includes Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties.

Even though lenders foreclosed on fewer homes in April than last year, they also started the foreclosure process on more homeowners in many counties. Pinellas County saw an increase in initial foreclosure lawsuits of 24 percent. Palm Beach, at 71 percent, saw the state's largest increase.

Nationwide, foreclosure activity fell 9 percent from March and 34 percent from April 2010. And even with Florida's large yearly drop, 19,649 properties received a foreclosure filing in April. That's the second-highest state total.

Nevada posted the nation's highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 97 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in April. Compare that with Florida, where one in every 451 homeowners got a filing. In Tampa, that number was 493.

sbehnken@tampatrib.com

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