LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fewer homes nationwide were put on a foreclosure track last month than in August last year, when they hit a 17-year high, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac said Thursday.

So-called foreclosure starts increased almost exclusively in states like Florida and New York, where courts must sign off on foreclosures, the firm said.

Conversely, in many so-called non-judicial states, like California and Arizona, the number of foreclosure starts declined vs, August last year.

The pace of homes entering the foreclosure process is expected to decline gradually, barring another severe economic shock that sends the slowly rebounding housing market into a tailspin, experts say. But that decline is likely to continue playing out unevenly, in part because of the differing approaches to handling foreclosures from state to state.

Some states have passed laws that slow the process, creating a backlog of foreclosure cases that will take longer to wade through.

Foreclosures and mortgage defaults rose in July, but they're far below levels seen after the recession, the latest DataQuick numbers show.

Which areas in San Diego County were most affected by both last month? Here are the 20 most distressed areas in the county, ranked by number of foreclosures and mortgage defaults per 1,000 homes in each community.

BY: TORY BARRINGER

Stalled confidence in the economy and personal finances apparently hasn’t brought down optimism in the housing market.

Fannie Mae released its July 2012 National Housing Survey Tuesday, showing that consumer optimism regarding the slowly recovering housing market remained strong during the month.

Survey respondents said they expect home prices to increase 1.7 percent in the next year, slightly down from the 2.0 percent survey high recorded in June. Eleven percent of respondents believe home prices will drop, the lowest level recorded since the survey began in June 2010.

In the highest level seen since the survey began, 16 percent of consumers say now is a good time to sell, while a steady 73 percent said it is a good time to buy.

A key gauge of Southern California home prices is on the rise because of a significant drop in foreclosed properties on the market and increased sales in more expensive coastal areas.

The Southland's median home price was up 5.3% in June from a year earlier, hitting $300,000 for the first time in two years, real estate firm DataQuick reported Tuesday. The median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less. June sales rose 7.5% compared with a year earlier, another sign of increased strength in the housing market.

Helping drive the region's home price gain was a dwindling foreclosure market.

Foreclosures made up about 1 in 4 sales last month, compared with 1 in 3 in June 2011. Last month's foreclosure figure was the lowest since December 2007, at just 24.5% of all resale homes, DataQuick said. Foreclosures tend to concentrate in cheaper, less desirable neighborhoods, and they also sell at a discount, dragging down overall prices.

By: Tory Barringer

The California Homeowner Bill of Rights is one step closer to becoming law as the Legislature sends some of its key provisions to the governor, state attorney general Kamala Harris announced Monday.

AB 278 and SB 900 provide protection for borrowers and struggling homeowners, including a restriction of dual-track foreclosures (in which a lender forecloses on a borrower despite being in discussions to try and save the home). They also guarantee struggling homeowners a single point of contact at their lender with knowledge of their loan and direct access to decision makers. In addition, the bills impose civil penalties for the practice of robosigning.

The bills passed 53-25 in the Assembly and 25-13 in the Senate. They will be sent to the desk of governor Jerry Brown for consideration.