While foreclosure filings have slowed down nationally, they remain at an elevated level in Whatcom County.

According to the Whatcom County Auditor Office's website, 60 trustee notices - typically the first step in the home foreclosure process - were sent out in May. Combined with the 27 bank repossession notices that national firm RealtyTrac estimates were sent out for the same period, 87 total filings went to Whatcom County housing units. That total is similar to each of the first four months of 2011.

Nationwide, the number of monthly foreclosure filings hit a 42-month low, with 214,927 sent out in May. The RealtyTrac report estimates one in every 605 housing units received a foreclosure filing in May.

The drop in foreclosure filings nationally is not a sign the housing market is improving.

"Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask," said James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, in a press release accompanying the data.

Saccacio said in the release that the numbers indicate lenders are "somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork ... and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory."

For the 53rd straight month, Nevada posted the highest state foreclosure rate in May, with one in every 103 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, while Arizona and California had the next highest rates. Washington state ranked 18th highest, with one in 781 housing units receiving a filing in May.

Las Vegas continued to post the highest foreclosure rate among metro areas, with one in every 89 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in May.