by Calculated Risk on 1/23/2013 08:00:00 PM

From Alejandro Lazo and Andrew Khouri at the LA Times: Number of homes entering foreclosure drops 22.1% to six-year low

California's foreclosure crisis eased considerably during the final quarter of last year, with the number of homes entering foreclosure dropping to a six-year low.

The real estate research firm DataQuick reported a 22.1% decline in default notices during the final three months of 2012 compared with the previous quarter — and a 37.9% drop from a year earlier. A total of 38,212 default notices were logged on California houses and condominiums last quarter, the lowest number since the final quarter of 2006. A default notice is the first formal step in the state's foreclosure process.

Here is the DataQuick release: California: Foreclosure Starts Lowest Since 2006

Note: California is a non-judicial foreclosure state, and the non-judicial states are recovering quicker than many judicial states (the courts take time).

Thursday economic releases:
• At 8:30 AM ET, The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for claims to increase to 360 thousand from 335 thousand last week.

• At 9:00 AM, The Markit US PMI Manufacturing Index Flash. This release might provide hints about the ISM PMI for January. This consensus is for a decrease to 54.0 from 54.2 in December. All of the regional surveys have been week so far, so this may decline more than the consensus.

• At 10:00 AM, the Conference Board Leading Indicators for December. The consensus is for a 0.4% increase in this index.

• At 11:00 AM, the Kansas City Fed regional Manufacturing Survey for January will be released. The consensus is for a reading of 2, up from -2 in December (below zero is contraction).