The first quarter of 2016 had a total of 289,116 foreclosure filings, the lowest quarterly filings with since the fourth quarter of 2006, according to RealtyTrac's March 2016 Foreclosure Market Report.  

The nationwide foreclosure activity, however, remains 25% above the pre-recession average from the first quarter of 2005 to the third quarter of 2007. In 12 states, foreclosure activity is, in fact, below the pre-recession average. Some of those states include Colorado, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, California, Arizona and Ohio.

This map shows 2016’s first quarter activity:

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(Source: RealtyTrac)

Areas with the highest foreclosure rates for the first quarter included Atlantic City, New Jersey; Trenton, New Jersey; Lakeland, Florida and Rockford, Illinois. Among the largest 20 metro areas, however, those with most annual increase in foreclosure activity included Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Baltimore and New York.

On the other hand, March’s monthly foreclosure activity increased 11% from February, making it the highest level since October 2015. This was driven by a monthly increase of 21% in foreclosure starts. March’s foreclosure activity was still down 11% from March 2015.