New figures released Thursday morning by the housing data company RealtyTrac show foreclosure filings were down 10 percent nationally from January to February and 27 percent from a year ago.  Vice President Daren Blomquist said the foreclosure picture in Arizona is also improving.

“We saw about 2,200 properties with foreclosure filings for the month of February, that was down 8 percent from the previous month and down 46 percent from a year ago, and the Arizona foreclosure rate now is down to number 18 among the states," Blomquist said.

But, Blomquist said there are some red flags. He said 20 percent to 30 percent of the homeowners in Arizona remain underwater, and the zombie foreclosure numbers, those homes in the process where the homeowner has moved out, is still slightly above the national average.  But he said compared to a couple years ago when the state was routinely in the top five foreclosure markets in the country, conditions have improved dramatically.