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The number notices of mortgage default in California rose in March to their highest level since October 2010, up 17.3 percent since the previous month to 26,615 filings, according to a report released Tuesday by the website ForeclosureRadar.com.

At the same time, foreclosures fell 3.3 percent.

Locally, the picture was mixed. 

Notices of default were up 34 percent in Santa Clara County and 28 percent in Contra Costa County between February and March, but remained relatively flat in both Alameda County and San Francisco. (However, the number of actual foreclosures in San Francisco shot up more than 30 percent to 209.)

All of this means the region's real estate crisis is still far from over, which isn't surprising if you've been listening to the CEOs of big banks like Bank of America.

The nation's largest mortgage servicer told a gathering of 50 state attorneys general on Tuesday that more foreclosures are inevitable.

“We’re reaching a point where some customers will be dealing with the reality that despite the myriad programs and the best efforts of everyone in this room, and of our teammates working with these customers, foreclosure may be unavoidable,” BofA's CEO Brian Moynihan told the gathering.

The 50 state attorneys general are investigating whether Bank of America and other large mortgage servicers illegally foreclosed on struggling homeowners.