Even with the government trying to slow the amount of foreclosures that hit the market, Sacramento is still in the top 10 of a state that has the dubious honor of leading the nation in foreclosure filings. California alone, with 230,915 filings in the first quarter of 2009, accounted for nearly 29% of the national total. The number of foreclosure filings in the state increased 35% from the fourth quarter and 36% from the year-ago period.

For Sacramento County, the first quarter of 2009 saw a drop in the share of bank-owned homes sold as reported by researcher MDA DataQuick. Repossessed homes accounted for 66 percent of sales in March compared to a high of 71 percent in January.

But Sacramento County still had 2,789 default notices in March. This is the opening step in the foreclosure process so the drop for the first quarter might just be attributed to the government’s temporary tactics to hold foreclosures. April and May will provide some much better insight into where the county is really heading. In addition to the default notices, the county also had 1,910 notices of trustee sales and 716 foreclosure auctions/sales last month, as the housing market continues to feel the effects of the recession and an increasing unemployment rate.

For more information on Sacramento foreclosures, click here.