Foreclosures drop in Maryland, Anne Arundel

State efforts to help residents keep their homes have led to a recent decline in the number of foreclosures across Maryland and in Anne Arundel County, officials announced yesterday.

But despite a drop from the second quarter to the third quarter, the number of foreclosures still is significantly higher than this time last year. And state officials said they expect those number to jump even higher as more Marylanders lose their jobs and home loans reset to higher rates next year.

"It's a short-term drop," said Mark Kaufman, deputy commissioner of financial regulation for the state Department of Labor Licensing...