A total of 597,589 properties were at some stage of the foreclosure process from January to June, said RealtyTrac, which tracks housing market trends. Foreclosure activity, which includes foreclosure notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were down 13 percent from the second half of last year and down 3 percent from the same period of 2014. Foreclosure starts fell 4 percent to 304,439 in the first half of this year, the lowest since RealtyTrac started tracking the data in 2006.