Mortgage delinquency rate rises to 8.44%: MBA (by Amy Hoak)

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage delinquencies rose in the second quarter, a development that reflects the deterioration of the job market, the Mortgage Bankers Association's chief economist said on Monday. In the second quarter, the delinquency rate for mortgages on one-to-four unit residential properties reached a seasonally adjusted 8.44%, up from 8.32% in the first quarter, yet still down from 9.85% when compared with the second quarter of 2010, according to the MBA's quarterly delinquency report. "While overall mortgage delinquencies increased only slightly between the first and second quarters of this year, it is clear that the downward trend we saw through most of 2010 has stopped. Mortgage delinquencies are no longer improving and are now showing some signs of worsening," Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the MBA said in a news release. Meanwhile, the percentage of mortgages entering the foreclosure process was 0.96% in the second quarter, the lowest level since 2007, down from 1.08% in the first quarter and 1.11% in the second quarter of last year. And the percentage of mortgages in the foreclosure process was 4.43% at the end of the second quarter, down from 4.52% in the first quarter and 4.57% in the second quarter of 2010.