According to RealtyTrac, an online resource for foreclosure properties and information, April 2012 shows foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) fell to 188,780 properties in April, the lowest monthly total since July 2007.

"Rising foreclosure activity in many states and local markets in April was masked at the national level by sizable decreases in hard-hit foreclosure states like California, Arizona & Nevada," said Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac.

Short sales for the first quarter are on track to outnumber the sales of bank owned (REO) properties in California, Arizona and 10 other states.

Minnesota joined Georgia and Tennessee and four other states posting annual increases in non-judicial foreclosures.  The 11 cities with annual increases in foreclosure activity were all in the Midwest, South or on the East Coast.