WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In a sign that low interest rates continue to support a strengthening housing market, foreclosure filings ticked down in March, and were 23% lower than during the same period in the prior year, according to data released Thursday. Foreclosure filings, such as default notices and bank repossessions, were reported on 152,500 U.S. properties in March, according to a report from RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace. For the first quarter, there were foreclosure filings for 442,117 properties, down 23% from the same period in the prior year and the lowest result since the second quarter of 2007. Meanwhile, U.S. foreclosure starts were down 28% in March compared with the same period in the prior year. Despite declines, foreclosures remain higher than pre-bubble levels. Also, the U.S. is seeing a lopsided housing-market recovery. Florida, for example, had seven of the 10 highest metro foreclosure rates in the first quarter.