Although the growth of foreclosures across the country has slowed down in recent months, industry experts warned that the housing market is not out of the woods yet.

The warning came after real estate listing service RealtyTrac reported that the number of households that received a foreclosure-related notice last month rose by a meager 0.5% to 323,000 households from a year ago. Despite the relatively small development, the company stressed that the housing crisis is far from over. “It’s not anything like a recovery yet,” RealtyTrac senior vice president Rick Sharga said.

According to experts, one of the main reasons why the growth in the number of foreclosures has decelerated in recent months is that banks would rather let delinquent borrowers stay longer in their homes than immediately deal with foreclosed properties. In addition, borrowers can also keep their properties for a longer period of time due to new consumer protection laws.

Market analysts also warned that foreclosed properties could plague the real estate market in the second half of the year if the government fails to address the country’s growing economic problems, particularly unemployment issues. Failure of certain mortgage-assistance programs and sluggish home sales could also spur the growth of foreclosed homes in the market.

Meanwhile, the state of Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in May, with one in every 79 households in the Silver State receiving a foreclosure notice. However, the number of foreclosed homes in the state fell 16% from a year ago.