Delinquent Loans 21.3% Higher Than a Year Ago

In February, the total number of delinquent loans was 21.3% higher than the same period last year, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor report from Lender Processing Services Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla. Although the data showed a small 1.45% seasonal decline in delinquencies from January 2010 to February 2010 month-end, the national delinquency rate still stood at 10.2%. In February the foreclosure rate of 3.31% represented a 51.1% year-over-year increase. LPS, a provider of mortgage performance data, says the total number of non-current first-lien mortgages and REO properties is now more than 7.9 million loans. The percentage of new problem loans is also at its highest level in five years. More than 1.1 million loans that were current at the beginning of January were already at least 30 days delinquent or in foreclosure by the end of February. As a result of HAMP, delinquent loans that were modified and that remained current through HAMP's three-month trial period-called "cures-to-current"-have increased. Advanced delinquency rolls, however, remain elevated from a historical perspective. The total U.S. non-current loan rate was 13.5% in February, the report said. States with most non-current loans, which combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of active loans in that state, included Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Mississippi, California, New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana. States with fewest non-current loans were North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, Vermont, Colorado, Washington and Minnesota.