Data released by RealtyTrac on April 14 showed that the number of foreclosures in the first quarter of 2011 was lower than what it was during the same quarter in 2010. More than 681,000 homes received a foreclosure filing in Q1 2011, a 27% decrease. That same quarter, 215,046 borrowers lost their homes, which is 17% lower than the Q1 2010 numbers. An article in Thursday’s Newsday reported that on Long Island, there were 2,011 foreclosures in Q1 2011, down 28% from the first quarter of 2010 with 2,880 foreclosures.

Wednesday’s Newsday article reported that the number of closings on Long Island fell in March. Last month, there were 1,902 sales closings on Long Island, down 9.3% from February, based on data from Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. However, the number of contracts, or pending sales, in the month of March was up 38% from the previous month. MLSLI also reported that the median home closing price fell in Nassau County from $397,000 in February to $390,000 in March. In Suffolk County, prices stayed the same at $300,000.

Bankrate.com reported that, as of April 13, home equity loans averaged 6.95% nationally, a drop of three basis points from a week earlier. (A basis point is 0.01 of a percentage point.) The typical home equity line of credit had a rate of 5.55%, down one basis point from last week.

Reuters reported that applications for home mortgages fell to their lowest level in three months. The Mortgage Bankers Association released data on Wednesday that the seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity — which includes refinancing and home purchasing applications — fell 6.7% in the week ending April 8. It was the third straight week of declines and applications were at their lowest level since the week of January 21. The index of refinancing applications declined by 7.7% and applications for loan requests dropped 4.7%, according to the MBA.