Efforts to work through the inventory of foreclosure sales have been slow going in judicial states such as Illinois, where the foreclosure process must go through the courts. But the latest report from Lender Processing Services shows that foreclosure sales rates are picking up.

Rates in judicial states rose nearly 17 percent from March to April and are the highest since 2010’s moratorium, said LPS Applied Analytics Senior Vice President Herb Blecher in a news release.

“Non-judicial rates were relatively quick to bounce back, but judicial states experienced a much slower, though steady, increase. This has helped drive an overall decline in foreclosure inventory at the national level, which is now at 3.2 percent — its lowest point in four years,” he said.

Blecher noted however, that inventory in judicial states is still higher — more than three times — the size of non-judicial states.