REAL ESTATE

A robust economy and rising home values drove foreclosure activity in the state to its lowest level in seven years in 1999, according to Acxiom/DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla. Foreclosure activity fell by nearly 18% last year to 101,053 proceedings by lending institutions, from 122,797 in 1998, the report showed. This was the lowest recorded foreclosure activity in the state since 1992, when 100,573 actions were posted. Southern California turned in some of the state’s sharpest drops in the number of recorded notices of default, the first step in a foreclosure process. These notices fell 28.3% in Orange County in 1999, 26.3% in Ventura County, 24.4% in Los Angeles County, 24.3% in San Diego County, 20.2% in Riverside County and 13.9% in San Bernardino County, according to Acxiom/DataQuick.