U.S. mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures at record highs

Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures reached record levels in the first three months of this year, driven higher by increasing housing woes in California and Florida, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. reported today.

Nationally, 6.35% of all mortgages were considered delinquent in the first quarter, up from 5.82% in the fourth quarter of last year and 4.84% in the first three months of 2007, the association reported.

An additional 2.47% of mortgages were in the process of foreclosure in the latest quarter, up from 2.04% in the preceding three months and 1.28% in the first quarter of last year.

“The problems in California and Florida are extraordinary and they are the main drivers of the national trend,” said Jay Brinkmann, the association’s vice president for research and economics.

California accounts for 13% of the country’s mortgages outstanding but is responsible for 21% of the homes that entered the foreclosure process in the latest period. Florida accounts for 8% of the nation’s mortgages and 15% of foreclosures.

The number of foreclosures started was the highest since 1979, as were the percentage of homes in foreclosure and the percentage in delinquency, the association said.

Although the mortgage crisis began in the sub-prime market, the number of troubled prime loans is on the rise. Of all loans that entered the foreclosure process, 19% were prime mortgages with fixed rates, 23% were prime loans with adjustable rates, 11% were fixed-rate sub-prime mortgages and 39% were adjustable sub-prime loans.

About 20 states saw declines in the number of foreclosures, including distressed states such as Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, Brinkmann said. But that improvement was more than offset by increasing troubles in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, which together accounted for 42% of all foreclosure starts in the first quarter.

 maura.reynolds@latimes.com