U.S. foreclosure filings dropped to a five-year low in September as fewer homes were on track to be seized by lenders.

It was the second-consecutive monthly decline in filings, although there remains a sharp divergence along state lines.

A report by foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. shows the number of homes entering the foreclosure process, so-called foreclosure starts, fell 12 percent from August and 15 percent from a year earlier

The September decline helped reduce foreclosure filings in the third quarter to the lowest level since the October-December quarter of 2007, RealtyTrac reports.