Inland home foreclosures in November declined for the fourth consecutive month, as banks continued to work with borrowers to avert repossessions. However, the region's overall foreclosure rates remained above levels from a year ago, and among the highest in the nation.

One in every 101 Riverside County homes, and one in every 104 San Bernardino County properties, were in some stage of default, according to figures released Wednesday by Irvine-based RealtyTrac.

Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for the online foreclosure market service, said overall Inland foreclosure-related actions dropped 19 percent from October to November. But the more than 14,000 actions was up 6.7 percent from a year ago.

The one of every 102 Inland housing units facing foreclosure placed the region sixth in the country -- behind Merced, Stockton, Modesto, Cape Coral/St. Myers, Fla., and Las Vegas.

The research firm tracks all phases of the foreclosure process, including default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions.

Blomquist said the foreclosure slowdown of recent months is due primarily to banks working with homeowners to avoid repossessions. Some are modifying loan terms, while others are accepting proceeds of short-sales to settle debts, or selling loans to second parties with more flexibility to work with borrowers.

However, the local foreclosure trend could worsen in coming months and remain a problem well into 2010. Blomquist said there could be another wave of borrowers unable to make payments as adjustable-rate loans reset at higher interest rates, while rising unemployment could impact those who have already had their loans modified.

"A lot of those homes could be back in foreclosure down the road," Blomquist said Wednesday. "It's much harder to work on a modification when there's a job loss, because that household has lost a major source of income."

According to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 50 percent of U.S. homes that were part of loan modification programs in 2008 ended up back in default within 12 months.

RealtyTrac reported that for the second month in a row, the same four states -- California, Florida, Illinois and Michigan -- accounted for 52 percent of the nation's total foreclosure activity. In spite of a 13 percent drop from the prior month, California topped all others with 73,995 properties receiving some type of foreclosure filing.

One in every 180 California homes is in some stage of foreclosure -- the third-worst rate in the nation. Among California counties, Riverside ranks fourth and San Bernardino ranks fifth for their percentage of housing units in foreclosure.

Nationwide, 306,627 homes were in some stage of foreclosure in November, down 8 percent from November but up 18 percent from a year ago.

One in every 417 U.S. houses received a foreclosure filing in November, RealtyTrac reported.

Reach Lou Hirsh at 951-368-9559 or lhirsh@PE.com.