Mortgage Delinquencies Rise in Second Quarter

Washington, DC, Aug. 9, 2012 -- Mortgage delinquencies rose in the second quarter to a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.58% of all mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That's up from 7.4% in the first quarter, MBA said.

Delinquencies include mortgages that are at least one payment past due but not yet in the foreclosure process.

"Mortgage delinquencies were up only slightly over the last quarter," said Jay Brinkmann, MBA's chief economist, in a press release.

"Perhaps more important than the small size of the increase, however, is the fact that it reversed the trend of fairly steady drops in delinquencies we have seen over the last year. This is consistent with the slowdown in the economy during the first half of the year and our stubbornly high unemployment rate."

The percentage of mortgages entering the foreclosure process was 0.96% in the second quarter, unchanged from previous quarter.