On the plus side, foreclosures dropped in California in October all across the board. While the state still reflects some of the highest rates in the country, signs that foreclosures may be decreasing or even plateauing are a welcome report.

As far as by what percent foreclosures in California fell, it is unknown. As the norm, there were some conflicting numbers reported by varying foreclosure data companies.

According to an article in HousingWire titled, “Foreclosures Drop in California, as Lenders Boost Workout Attempts,” foreclosures dropped by 39.1 percent from September to October. The article, by Kelly Curran, published on November 13, 2008 offered data from ForeclosureRadar, a California-based foreclosure reporting company.

However, according to another article, this one published in the Associated Press, stated that “while California had the highest total number of foreclosures in October, the rate in that state was down 18 percent from the previous month.”

This article titled, “Foreclosure rates up 25 percent year-over-year” was published on November 13, 2008 and written by Adrian Sainz. The foreclosure data company used as a reference in this article was RealtyTrac, another California-based foreclosure listing company.

The difference between the two reports? A vast 20%. However, at least both foreclosure listing companies reported decreases. As Foreclosure Research has found on numerous occasions, when one company reports foreclosure are up, the other can very well report that foreclosures are down.

While the latter report offers the same period of comparison, the article utilizes one of those confusing tactics where foreclosures are compared for one period and then compared to a totally different period, all in one article. For example, this article headline: “Foreclosure Rates up 25 percent,” offers later in the article that foreclosures are down 19 percent from the previous month. Foreclosures are up from a year but now down for the current period. This type of reporting is confusing to the average reader and just one conclusive statistic should be offered per article that way a better understanding of the current market is offered.