Ill. foreclosures fall 27% in Feb.

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Updated: March 25, 2011 9:31AM

Illinois home foreclosure activity fell more than 27 percent in February compared to the previous month.

A report released Thursday by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac shows Illinois with 9,592 foreclosure filings last month. Filings include default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions.

The filings represent one in every 552 housing units in the state. That rate is almost 45 percent lower than in February last year and 11th-highest nationally.

RealtyTrac says most of the decrease can be attributed to lenders and servicers halting foreclosures while they revamp procedures following a controversy over questionable paperwork processing.

Nevada continued to have the nation’s highest foreclosure rate — one in every 119 housing units.

Other states with foreclosure rates higher than Illinois are Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan and Utah.