A record number of foreclosure actions were initiated in the first
quarter of 2009, according to a nationwide survey released today by the
Mortgage Bankers Association. Foreclosure actions were initiated on 1.37 percent of first mortgages,
according to the MBA’s National Delinquency Survey, an increase of 36
basis points from the same period last year and 29 basis points from
the fourth quarter of 2008. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans for
one-to-four-unit residential properties was 9.12 percent at the end of
the first quarter of 2009, up 277 basis points from one year ago — the
highest rate the MBA has measured since 1972. TRD
[more]