MARIETTA — Following a year-to-date high, the number of Cobb County foreclosures dropped significantly ahead of the September auction.

There are 847 properties listed for foreclosure in September, 331 fewer than the 1,256 listed for foreclosure in September 2011, a drop of 32.6 percent. September’s listings are the lowest number of foreclosures this year.

Year-to-date, there have been 7,941 Cobb properties advertised for foreclosure in 2012, down about 26 percent from the 10,710 properties listed by this point last year. The calculated year for foreclosures runs from February through January because the numbers are reported a month before the auction.

Legal notices must appear on four consecutive Fridays before a property can be sold at auction on the Cobb Superior Courthouse steps in Marietta. Foreclosure sales begin at 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month, and the next is set for Sept. 4.

Nationwide, the number of mortgage holders who are behind by 60 or more days has dropped nearly 9 percent in the first six months of this year, according to consumer credit rating agency TransUnion.

Also, a Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey reports that the national mortgage delinquency rate is down from a year ago.

Tina Fountain, a Marietta real estate broker, said not only is Cobb’s normal housing inventory low — which has created greater demand — but the foreclosure inventory is also low.

“People are choosing to do a short sale if there’s a loss of money involved to the seller,” Fountain said.

“The banks are offering a greater variety of short sale programs to the home sellers now. The banks want the people to stay in the home and take care of it, to avoid a foreclosure until it sells. So they’re working with them more on short sales.”