Washington metro area foreclosures down 7.9 percent in April National April foreclosure activity decreased 5 percent from March and was down 14 percent from April 2011, according to a report by RealtyTrac released Thursday. One in every 698 U.S. housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month. RealtyTrac chief executive Brandon Moore attributed the drop in part to an increase in short sales, which are becoming a more common alternative to foreclosure among distressed properties. In this 2010 file photo, a foreclosure sign sits atop a for sale sign in front of a single-family home in Denver. David Zalubowski - AP "More distressed loans are being diverted into short sales rather than becoming completed foreclosures," Moore said in a statement. Our preliminary first quarter sales data shows that pre-foreclosure sales - typically short sales - are on pace to outnumber sales of bank-owned properties during the quarter in California, Arizona and 10 other states. After three straight monthly increases, U.S. foreclosure starts - which include default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions, depending on the state - decreased 4 percent from March to April. A total of 97,665 properties started the foreclosure process for the first time during the month, down 2 percent from April 2011. Despite the overall decrease in foreclosure starts, 26 states posted monthly increases in foreclosure starts. Eleven of the nation's 20 largest metro areas documented annual increases in foreclosure activity, led by the Florida cities of Tampa (59 percent) and Miami (38 percent), RealtyTrac reported. Among the 20 largest metros areas, cities posting the biggest annual drops in foreclosure activity included Seattle (54 percent), Phoenix (44 percent), San Francisco (34 percent), Washington (30 percent), Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. (30 percent) and Los Angeles (28 percent). In the Washington metro area, there were 1,530 properties with foreclosure filings last month, which was a 7.9 percent decrease from March. Previously: Foreclosures reach their lowest level since 2007. Follow @postrealestate