Mortgage delinquencies fell to a six-year low.

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. said the number of homeowners who were at least 30 days late in making a mortgage payment declined to 5.19% of the 9.8 million home loans surveyed during the January-March quarter. This compared to 5.38% of loans which were delinquent during the final three months of 1986 and marked the fourth consecutive quarter in which the delinquency rate has fallen. Delinquency rates have not declined for that long a stretch since 1964, the association said. The percentage of loans entering foreclosure proceedings was essentially unchanged at 0.27%. The association attributed the four consecutive quarterly declines in overall late payments to lower interest rates, tighter approval processes for potential buyers, income gains and rises in employment.