Late Mortgage Payments in California Dip to 3.9%

The number of Californians at least 30 days behind in their mortgage payments declined to 3.92% of the 1.4 million home loans surveyed in the first quarter of this year, the lowest level in a year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America.

“The loans that are delinquent are probably loans originated in ’82 and ’83 when interest rates were high,” according to George E. Francis, president of the California Mortgage Bankers Assn.

He attributed the decline in the state’s delinquency rate to relatively low mortgage interest rates, gains in personal income and employment growth.