President Obama’s mortgage modification plan took a hit yesterday, after Treasury Department data revealed at the rate of default on mortgages among homeowners in the program almost doubled in March, according to the New York Times. The defaults came even after homeowners enrolled in the program had received less expensive mortgage terms, as more than 2,800 borrowers holding the modified loans were unable to make payments since the program began last fall. Currently around 7 million households are delinquent in their mortgage payments.

As the deflation of housing values deepens, more homeowners are choosing to walk away from homes — and mortgages — rather than continue making payments. NBC Nightly News’ Diana Olick said that with home prices down around 30 percent from peak levels nationwide, an increasing number of homeowners are finding that these strategic defaults can help their bottom line. The trend is becoming more noticeable, with Web sites like YouWalkAway.com providing step-by-step advice on the process, Olick said, raising concerns about the stress that could be put on banks should more mortgage holders jump ship.

There were 1,750 bank-owned properties in New York City, as of September 2009, according to a report released today from the Furman Center. This represents a six-fold jump in the number of bank-owned properties over the last two years, and that statistic stands to increase even further given the city’s record 20,000 foreclosure filings in 2009. A handful of regions, including Eastern Queens, Central Brooklyn and Staten Island’s northern shore, appeared to be the hardest hit, showing a higher concentration of bank-owned properties than other parts of the five boroughs. The report noted that these neighborhoods had a higher level of mortgage distress than other parts of New York City, as well. TRD

A recent report from research firm Real Estate Econometrics shows that commercial mortgage defaults have a long way to go before bottoming out. The number of mortgage defaults could peak in the next two years, the report says, and that high level of commercial distress could sustain through 2013. “That’s a situation that will grow more serious over the course of the next year or more,” Econometrics President Sam Chandan said. His group forecasts as many as 5.2 percent of commercial and 5.5 percent of multi-family mortgages will default in fourth-quarter 2010.