Foreclosure sales declined in the third quarter of last year but still represented 20 percent of all homes sold in the July-September period — about four times more than at the height of the housing boom.

Foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac says that in 2005 and 2006, when housing was still flying high, foreclosures made up less than five percent of all home sales. They peaked in 2009 at 37.4 percent.

As a portion of all homes purchased, foreclosure sales declined in the third quarter from 22 percent in the April-June period. RealtyTrac says they were down from 30 percent in the third quarter of 2010.

Ongoing disputes over how some lenders handled foreclosures have been a key factor in foreclosed homes’ declining share of all home sales. But the pace is expected to pick up once new procedures are in place.