Foreclosures slowing

While the number of foreclosures in the San Fernando Valley jumped in April compared with a year ago, the number of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments slowed dramatically, a research center said Friday. Gregory J Wilcox in the Daily News.

The 53 percent decrease in the number of default notices - the first step in the foreclosure process - bodes well for the immediate future of the local real-estate market, indicating fewer foreclosures are likely in coming months, experts said.

"I like these numbers. They are moving down nicely," said economist William Roberts, director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at California State University, Northridge. "In the last four to six months it's looked good."