The inventory of foreclosed homes posted big drops in the final months of 2012, Lender Processing Services reported Monday. U.S. homes in the foreclosure inventory dropped 3.51 percent in November — following a 2.84 percent decrease in October, and a 10 percent decline in September.

LPS says the National Mortgage Settlement may have been a big factor in the drop and could be delaying the pace of foreclosures. Foreclosure starts could “rebound as mortgage servicers incorporate new procedural requirements into their operations,” according to LPS.

Meanwhile, the loan delinquency rate ticked up to 7.12 percent in November, with judicial states (states where foreclosures must be court-approved) seeing some of the highest percentage of delinquent loans, such as in Florida, New Jersey, and New York.

Source: “National Foreclosure Inventory Drops: LPS,” HousingWire (Jan. 14, 2013)