The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties in Massachusetts dropped to 7.32 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 87 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The percentage of loans in Massachusetts on which foreclosure was started during the quarter was nearly flat, rising 1 basis point to 0.70 percent, while the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the quarter rose 3 basis points to 2.98 percent. These rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Massachusetts ranked 16th in delinquencies and 36th in foreclosures started. Mississippi ranked first in delinquencies with a rate of 10.93 percent and Florida ranked first in foreclosure starts with a rate of 1.73 percent.
Delinquency rates for prime fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, subprime fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, FHA loans and VA loans all decreased in the first quarter.
On a national level, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties was 6.94 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, down 121 basis points from 8.15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate on residential properties was 7.40 percent in the first quarter, down 18 basis points from last quarter’s seasonally adjusted rate.
Nationally, the non-seasonally adjusted percentage of loans on which foreclosure was started during the quarter decreased nine basis points to 0.96 percent, while the non-seasonally adjusted percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the quarter increased one basis point to 4.39 percent.
"Mortgage delinquencies normally fall during the first quarter of the year, but the declines we saw were even greater than the normal seasonal adjustments would predict, so delinquencies are clearly continuing to improve. Newer delinquencies, loans one payment past due as of March 31, are down to the lowest level since the middle of 2007, indicating fewer new problems we will need to deal with in the future," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, in a statement.
"The percentage of loans three payments or more past due, the loans that represent the backlog of problems that still need to be handled, is down to the lowest level since the end of 2008. Foreclosure starts are at their lowest level since the end of 2007," he added.
