Foreclosure starts continued to decline in Nevada and other Western states in April, offsetting small
gains in new foreclosure filings from the previous month, ForeclosureRadar.com reported.

In Clark County, notices of default filings - the initial step in the foreclosure process - fell nearly
30 percent in April to 962, foreclosure sales declined 21.9 percent to 400, and time to foreclose increased 6.7% to 431 days.

In California, default filings are down 69.8% from the peak in March 2009 and down 15.8% from April 2011.
Foreclosure sales also declined.

However, investors purchased a percentage of the limited inventory that was actually sold. Nevada investors
purchased 50.7% of foreclosure sales, followed by Arizona with 44.6% California at 41.3%.

The low number of sales, combined with record purchases on the courthouse steps, left few to become bank or real estate owned. This further depletes the inventory as REO sales continue to outpace the addition of new inventory.

Despite investors purchasing a higher number of foreclosure sales, margins have rapidly declined in recent months. In both Arizona and Nevada, winning bids on average equal the current estimated value of these properties.

This leaves resale investors looking at record LOW profits after paying for evictions, repairs and closing costs.

A Realtor said that investors are "out in force" trying to cash in for top dollar while the market presents a short window of opportunity.

At the end of April, there were 4,407 homes available for sale without an offer, including just 605 REOs and 1,428 short sales.

Pre-foreclosure inventory, properties that have had a notice of default filed but have not yet been scheduled for Trustee sale - declined to 25,449 in April, down from 36,876 in the same month a year ago.

"Sadly, the indefinite future does look bleak. We are looking at a year before normality."

California has pending legislation similar to Nevada's Robo signing law, which require lenders to provide authority to foreclose before filing a notice of default.

If passed, it will likely slow foreclosure activity in California.