Foreclosure activity reached the highest monthly and quarterly totals on record while repossessions dropped.

Foreclosure filings including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Total foreclosures reached 803,489 homes with one in every 159 homes received a foreclosure filing during the first three months of 2009 according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties.

US foreclosure activity increased 24 percent during the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year and 9 percent compared to the last quarter of 2008.

March filings were up 17 percent compared to February and 46 percent compared to the same month last year.

An 3 percent decline in repossessions was recorded.

The increase in foreclosure filing is seen as the after effect of the lifting of the foreclosure filings moratorium.

The March and first quarter numbers were the highest monthly and quarterly totals since RealtyTrac began reporting in January 2005.

"In the month of March we saw a record level of foreclosure activity - the number of households that received a foreclosure filing was more than 12 percent higher than the next highest month on record," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, in a statement.

Worst-hit states

Five states, namely California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada and Illinois, accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total foreclosure activity in the first quarter with 479,516 properties received foreclosure filings.

In California, 230,915 filings were recorded in the first quarter, which accounted for nearly 29 percent of the total. The number of foreclosure filings in the state increased 35 percent from the fourth quarter and 36 percent from the year-ago period.

In March, California had 107,785 total filings increasing 33 percent from February and almost 67 percent from a year ago.

The state is tied with Rhode Island for the fourth-highest unemployment rate, at 10.5 percent. Jobs are disappearing as the housing crisis drags down California's economy.

Florida's total filings in the first quarter fell 12 percent from the fourth quarter, but the state's 119,220 were still the second-highest in the country.

Third was Arizona, with one filing for every 54 households, up almost 80% year-over-year and 6.2% from the fourth quarter. Nevada was fourth in total filings, and first in completed foreclosures. Its foreclosure rate was more than five times the national average, and one in 27 houses received a filing.

Like California, Nevada employment has suffered as a result of the housing crisis. Nevada had a total of 41,296 filings, almost 111 percent over last March and 19 percent over the fourth quarter.

Bank repossessions in Nevada were down 3 percent from the fourth quarter, but defaults increased 27% and auction sale notices rose 35 percent.