Fewer homes enter foreclosure process in February

The number of homes caught up in some stage of the foreclosure process in February fell 2% from the previous month to 308,524 homes in the state of California.

The steady decline in foreclosure activity is attributed to efforts by banks to keep people in their homes through the Obama administration's $75 billion plan to help troubled borrowers.

California could be particularly vulnerable because of the high concentration of borrowers falling behind on their payments and because there are so many borrowers in the state who are underwater, owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

California ranked fourth in foreclosures among the states -- following Nevada, Florida and Arizona -- with 1 in every 195 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in February.