Delinquent mortgages down, foreclosures up: OCC (by Ronald D. Orol)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Seriously delinquent mortgages fell to their lowest level in three years in the second quarter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported Thursday. According to the report, the percentage of mortgages that were seriously delinquent was 4.4%, down 0.8% from the prior quarter and down 9.2% from a year earlier. However, 2.8% of mortgages were 30 to 59 days past due, up 12.1% from the prior quarter but down 7.5% from a year ago. Also, the number of new foreclosures initiated in the quarter increased to 302,636, up 5.5% from the previous quarter's 286,951. The number was also up from the 287,173 newly initiated foreclosures in the same period in 2011. The number of mortgages in the process of foreclosure decreased 2.6% from the previous quarter and 6.6% from a year earlier to 1,237,025.