Foreclosure filings dropped once again in July, hitting their lowest level since November 2007, as processing delays and foreclosure prevention measures enabled a larger number of delinquent borrowers to remain in their homes.
Filings were down 4% compared to June and were 35% lower than July 2010, marking the tenth straight month of year-over-year declines, according to RealtyTrac, a leading online marketer of foreclosed properties.

Housing markets struggled through another tough quarter, this time during the spring buying season, the strongest time of year for home sellers.
Prices of existing homes fell 2.8% in the three months ended June 30 compared with the same period in 2010, according to a report issued Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

It’s the busiest time of year for rentals in Boston and, unfortunately for apartment-seekers, it’s also the hottest rental market in almost a decade. With consumers worried about purchasing real estate in a down economy, the rental market is heating up with vacancy rates at their lowest level since 2002, according to recent statistics and Boston brokers. The rental market is very competitive this fall with some rents 20 percent more than last year, according to Briggs Johnson, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the South End.