Ellington

The numbers of Magnolia State residents receiving foreclosure notices dropped dramatically in July. RealtyTrac, the California company that tracks foreclosure notices nationwide, reports a 38 percent drop in the state over the previous month, according to a release.

Mississippi's rate of foreclosure is considerably lower than the nationwide rate: one out of every 2,625 homeowners received some sort of mortgage delinquency notice here in comparison to one out of every 355 homeowners nationally.

In July, 124 Mississippians lost their homes. The rate of foreclosures notices remains up by 152 percent in comparison to July 2008.

RealtyTrac numbers suggest that nearly 2 million foreclosed properties are up for sale in the U.S. Nevada tops the nation with a rate of foreclosure more than six times the national rate. Four states—California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada—accounted for more than half of all foreclosure activity in July.