The number of foreclosure notices filed in November plunged 21%, the biggest month-over-month drop ever recorded by RealtyTrac, the online foreclosure marketer. Filings fell 14% compared with November 2009.

The number of Americans who actually lost their homes to bank repossessions plummeted even more steeply -- to 67,428. That was off a whopping 28% from 93,236 in October.

The drop in total filings, which include notices of default, scheduled auctions and repossessions, followed a 4% decline a month earlier. RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio attributed the downtrend to fallout from the recent robo-signing controversy.  "[That] forced lenders and servicers to hit the pause button on many foreclosures while they scrambled to revamp their internal procedures and revise or resubmit questionable paperwork," he said.

The robo-signing moratoriums were responsible for the lion's share of the decrease in November filings, said Rick Sharga, spokesman for RealtyTrac.

"I wish the report was actually good news," he said. "But it's just an artificial drop. For most borrowers in foreclosure, it will be a temporary reprieve."  The temporary freezes likely won't benefit many homeowners, he added: Most will still lose their homes.

"There will probably be a few people who will use the extra time to negotiate loan modifications or do a short sale but not in any meaningful way," said Sharga.

He predicted December will bring another decline followed by an acceleration of foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2011. Conditions will return to what people now refer to as a "normal market" during the second quarter.

The industry has dubbed the four leading foreclosure states of the past few years, California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada, as the "sand states" because they all have extensive areas of beaches or desert.  Now, a fifth sand state has joined their ranks. Utah recorded one filing for every 222 housing units during the month, second only to Nevada (one for every 99).

California (one for every 233), Arizona (one for every 262) and Florida (one for every 267) round out the top five.

Among the nation's metro areas, Las Vegas leads the pack. Seven interior California cities are in the top 10, plus Reno, Nev., is at no. 8 and Port St. Lucie, Fla., is at 10.

Source: www.money.cnn.com