(MCT) — The number of upside-down homeowners in the Chicago area fell in the second quarter, another sign of the gradual improvement in the local housing market,  whose recovery continues to lag the nation's.

At the end of June, 460,684 homes in the Chicago area, representing 30.1 percent of residential properties with a mortgage, were upside down, owing more on the mortgage than the value of the properties, CoreLogic reported Wednesday. While higher than the national negative equity percentage of 22.3 percent, the local figure is an improvement from the 503,574 properties, representing 32.7 percent of homes with a mortgage, upside down at the end of March.