A real estate data company said today that home foreclosure filings for November dropped from October levels, though they may remain at historically high levels as increasing payments on adjustable-rate loans pressure borrowers, Reuters reported.

RealtyTrac reported a foreclosure rate of one in 617 households; lenders submitted 201,950 foreclosure filings last month, a decline 10 percent from October. Total filings were up almost 68 percent compared with November 2006, said RealtyTrac, which markets foreclosed houses. November’s decline follows a 2 percent increase in filings in October and an 8 percent fall in September.

Regulators and lawmakers are working to halt the soaring foreclosure numbers, which many economists say could tip the U.S. economy into recession. Plans that make it easier to get a government-insured loan or would freeze interest rates for some subprime borrowers will slow foreclosures, analysts say. But many homeowners remain vulnerable to default.

The hardest-hit states were Nevada and Florida, where price gains were among the strongest during the housing boom.