A steady climb in new foreclosure lawsuits against Hawaii property owners since last fall was broken in March with a dip in case volume.

The state Judiciary reported 362 new cases last month, which was down from 404 cases in the same month last year and from 390 in February.

Last month’s dip, however, could be later revised. The Judiciary has been revising its foreclosure case data, including an increase to February’s count to 390 from 375 reflected in the March report. January’s count was raised twice in two months to 367 and then 388 from 364.

If it holds, March’s tally of new foreclosure cases represents a modest slip in what some observers have called an artificial rebound in case volume in response to a major change to Hawaii foreclosure law enacted in June.

The change made attorneys responsible for affirming the accuracy of all case documents submitted by lenders, a move that required lenders to revise practices for initiating new cases.

As lenders and attorneys adjusted, the volume of new cases sank from 458 in June to about 60 or 70 for a few months before starting a general rise that climbed to more than 300 by November.

The adjustment, which followed a bigger overhaul to the law in 2011 that skewed data even more, has made it difficult to see clearly whether Hawaii foreclosure troubles are fading.

Some observers contend that the new laws delayed a large number of delinquent mortgages from being resolved, and prolonged a market recovery.

But another view is that the laws have pressured lenders to offer homeowners more assistance or incentives that resolved mortgage delinquencies through loan modifications, short sales and the relinquishing of deeds in lieu of foreclosure.

Another factor influencing foreclosures have been improvements in the local economy and housing market.