LA TIMES-

New California foreclosure actions posted a sharp plunge in the first quarter to levels not seen since the last housing boom.

Lenders filed 18,567 mortgage default notices on California houses and condominiums during the first three months of the year. That was a 51.4% drop from the previous quarter and a 67.0% drop from the first quarter of 2012, according to real estate firm DataQuick.

The filing of a notice of default is the first step in California’s formal foreclosure process.

The firm reported the numbers Tuesday. It attributed the drop to rising home prices, a stronger economy and government interventions designed to curtail foreclosures.

In particular, a series of new laws backed by state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris that place new regulations on foreclosure practices appears to have played a big role in the sharp reduction, DataQuick reported.

[LA TIMES]