HOME DEFAULT RATE FALLS : CALIFORNIA FIGURES SHOW 11.8% DROP.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

California's residential foreclosure rate dropped 11.8 percent in the second quarter from the first three months of this year, cushioned by a steady growth in home sales, a real estate information service reported Friday.

But it was 22 percent higher than a year ago, in part due to a recent policy by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to speed up the foreclosure process.

Lenders served 39,391 notices of default statewide from April to June compared with 44,686 for the first quarter and 32,253 from a year ago, according to Dataquick Information Systems of La Jolla. Serving notices of default is the first step in a foreclosure process.

In Los Angeles County, foreclosures topped 13,132 in the second quarter, a 7 percent decline from the first quarter and a 32 percent gain from 1995.

Orange County had 3,334 foreclosures, down 26 percent from the first quarter and up 14 percent from a year ago. San Diego's 2,842 foreclosures were down 21 percent from the first quarter and up 18 percent from a year ago.

Ventura County had an 8 percent increase, to 838, over the quarter and a 33 percent increase over a year ago.

John Karevoll, a Dataquick analyst, said the spike in foreclosures this year mainly is due to a recent directive to speed up foreclosures by Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association.

Foreclosures surged despite improving real estate and other economic conditions in the state, he said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., have said they will crack down on lenders to expedite the foreclosure process.

In the past, lenders have been more lax in enforcing foreclosures, costing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac interest revenue and incurring additional expenses for them in the maintenance of these properties.

``It's part of our overall strategy to reduce our credit losses on delinquent mortgages,'' said Jane Stockinger, director of mortgage servicing policy at Freddie Mac. ``The longer the loan stays out there, the greater our loss.''

Michael Drawdy, loan servicing committee chairman for the California Mortgage Bankers Association, said lenders are stepping up enforcement.

``You very definitely see that happening,'' he said. ``Interest expense will be shifted to lenders if they don't move foreclosures timely.''