New York, January 25 (FinanceEnquiry.com) - After a sharp rise in the number of California homes entering foreclosures in the summer, the fourth-quarter witnessed fewer new defaults. However, experts feel that this might not continue for long. The fourth quarter figure dropped 11.9 percent from the same period in 2010 to the second-lowest level over the last four years.

The number of notices of default recorded on California properties during the fourth quarter dropped 13.7 percent to 61,517 from the third quarter of 2011. However, as banks get more aggressive in their dealings with seriously delinquent mortgages, the number of foreclosure actions will probably increase in California and other states, leading to lowering of home prices.

Economists feel that since seasonal factors influence foreclosure numbers, volatility in the data is quite prominent at the moment. The trend is likely to move up, though it will not be permanent. In December, the number of default notice filings dropped sharply especially in the cases of loans from Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon. There was also a drop in the number of homes taken back through the foreclosure process by 11.8 percent from a year earlier to 31,260.

Delays in foreclosures in 2011 were mainly due to banks solving issues regarding mortgage servicing and foreclosure. Banks are now gearing up to be more organized in pursuing foreclosure actions.