Home Foreclosures Edge Up in State

The number of foreclosures on California homes edged up nearly 5% in the first four months of the year, compared with record low figures from the same period a year earlier, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Banks and other lending institutions started foreclosure proceedings on 29,730 homeowners between January and April, up from 28,350 during the first four months of 2001.

Foreclosure activity remains well below the peak in 1996, when more than 59,000 homes were in the foreclosure process between January and April.