For the first time in several months, New Jersey has experienced a drop in foreclosure filings. New numbers from RealtyTrac show 2,025 filings in March, a 12 percent decrease from the month prior and a ten percent drop year-over-year.

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"March stood out for New Jersey because it interrupted a long string of increasing foreclosure activity that the state has seen over the last year," said RealtyTrac's Daren Blomquist.

New Jersey ranked 36th among the states for foreclosure rates in March. It had placed in the top third or at the middle of the pack in months past.

Blomquist questions if the pleasant figures are a sure sign of a positive stretch for New Jersey, or if this is just a fluke of good news.

Many homeowners going through the foreclosure process over the past couple of years were offered a break in the action when the federal government stepped in to address "robo-signing" foreclosure processing. Early last year, a $25 billion settlement was made between five mortgage lenders and 49 states, sending the process into overdrive. Blomquist wonders if lenders have gotten through their backlogs.

"Right now, it's a little too early to tell for sure," Blomquist said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if we see a few more increases going forward."

The national foreclosure numbers, as a whole, were very pleasant in the latest report. Foreclosures in the first quarter of 2013 dropped to their lowest level since the second quarter of 2007.

"We're about a little over halfway back to what we would consider a normal level of foreclosure activity nationwide," said Blomquist.

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