The rising tide of foreclosure postings in North Texas slowed a bit in the latest report.

But analysts who track these home loan defaults say not to expect much improvement in the months ahead.

Maybe not, but the 3 percent increase in foreclosure postings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for June was a much smaller rise than in recent months.

"It's a welcome change," but don't get used to it, said George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service.

"I think it will be right back up there next month," he said. "We've heard from some of the [foreclosure] trustees they are expecting a big month for July postings."

For the first six months of 2008, foreclosures are up 20 percent from the same period last year, according to the latest statistics from Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. of Addison.

More than 25,000 North Texas homes have been scheduled for foreclosure so far this year.

For June's foreclosure auctions alone, more than 3,800 homes are facing forced sale. That's down about 13 percent from May's total.

The legal notices are filed three weeks before the foreclosure auctions, which are held the first Tuesday of every month.

For next month's foreclosures, the biggest increase is in Collin County, where postings are up 17 percent from June 2007.

Tarrant County sees a 1 percent dip in the number of pending foreclosures. And Dallas County totals are flat from a year earlier.

Between 50 percent and 60 percent of the monthly foreclosure postings result in an actual forced sale of the property. In some cases the sales are delayed, or the borrower reaches a new agreement regarding the debt.

Many of the home loans that are in default are subprime mortgages that have burdened borrowers with rising payments.