Serious mortgage loan delinquency rate falls

Across the U.S., the serious delinquency rate fell 10 percent from its peak in December 2009 through March 2011, according to the Center for Housing Policy, the research arm of the National Housing Conference (NHC). Serious delinquency is defined as the share of home loans in foreclosure plus the share of loans that are delinquent 90 or more days. According to the NHC the share of loans delinquent 90 or more days fell to 3.9 percent from 5.5 percent. Unfortunately, foreclosures rose 12 percent during that period.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach topped the list of serious delinquencies at 23.6 percent, according to Foreclosure-Response.org, an affiliate of the Center for Housing Policy.. Las Vegas-Paradise came in second at 21.9 percent, followed by Palm Coast (21.2 percent), Port St. Lucie (21.1 percent) and Cape Coral-Fort Myers (20.8 percent).

Cities in Florida were at the top of the list of those with the highest foreclosure rates. Of the top 25 cities with the highest serious delinquency rates, 17 were in Florida. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area took the top spot with a foreclosure rate of 18.2 percent, followed by Palm Coast (16.8 percent), Port St. Lucie (15.9 percent), Cape Coral-Fort Lauderdale-Fort Myers (15.1 percent) and Orlando-Kissimmee (14.8 percent).

"In some states, foreclosure processes are excessively slow, while in others they are too rapid," said Jeffrey Lubell, executive director of the Center. "Waiting too long to finalize a foreclosure prolongs recovery for borrowers and neighborhoods, but pursuing foreclosures too quickly shuts down real opportunities to save homes. Both trends contribute to the destabilization of communities."

The backlog of foreclosures is especially a problem in metro areas in New York, which has the longest average foreclosure process of all states. Data also show that metro areas in the Pacific Northwest have rising serious delinquency rates.

For many Americans struggling with mortgage payments, refinancing is out of the option because they either can't qualify for a home loan because of their credit or they have lost too much home equity. In some cases people with decent credit are being turned away for a home refinance by reluctant mortgage lenders.