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Foreclosure Sales in West Down in May; Likely to Increase in June

Foreclosure sales decreased in all five Western states tracked by ""PropertyRadar"":http://www.propertyradar.com --Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington--over the month of May.

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The greatest decline took place in Oregon, where foreclosure sales fell 47.8 percent over the month. Nevada followed with a 38.7 percent decline, and then Arizona, California, and Washington fell in line with declines of 24.5 percent, 23.1 percent, and 14 percent, respectively.

PropertyRadar attributes the decreases in foreclosure sales to new ""guidance"":http://www.occ.gov/topics/consumer-protection/foreclosure-prevention/foreclosure_standards_42013.pdf from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The guidance established minimum standards for handling borrower files subject to a foreclosure sale within 60 days.

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In California, foreclosure sales from Citi were down 50 percent, and foreclosure sales from Wells Fargo were down 75 percent over the month of May in California, according to PropertyRadar. JPMorgan's foreclosure sales were back on track by the end of the month, according to the firm.

""We expect foreclosure sales to pick up in June as banks incorporate the new standards,"" PropertyRadar said in its May report.

Meanwhile, foreclosure starts rose in Oregon and fell in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Washington in May.

Foreclosure starts were down 10.2 percent in California, the first decrease since January, according to PropertyRadar. Starts rose 66.7 percent in Oregon.

The greatest decline in foreclosure starts took place in Arizona, where foreclosure starts fell 29.2 percent. Washington foreclosure starts declined 14 percent, and Nevada foreclosure starts declined 8.6 percent.

Foreclosure timelines increased in all five Western states in May. Nevada experienced the greatest increase--11.8 percent, while California maintained the greatest timeline--336 days.

Oregon held the second-longest foreclosure timeline--308 days--followed by Nevada, with 278 days, and Washington, 220 days.

Arizona had the shortest foreclosure timeline in May--210 days.