LPS Records Increase in Nonperforming Loans

After several months in which the nation's volume of non-current home loans declined, the contraction has come to an end. ""Lender Processing Services"":http://www.lpsvcs.com (LPS) says there were 6.92 million residential mortgages past due or in foreclosure as of the end of January. That's up from 6.87 million reported by the analytics firm for December.

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LPS provided the media with a sneak peek at its January month-end mortgage performance data this week. The numbers show that both the delinquency rate and foreclosure inventory rate edged up last month.

The news comes directly on the heels of the release of the Mortgage Bankers Association's ""fourth-quarter delinquency survey"":http://dsnews.comarticles/mortgage-delinquencies-fall-to-lowest-level-in-two-years-2011-02-17, which just as LPS' report did one

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month earlier, signaled a notable decline in mortgage delinquencies during the latter part of 2010 tempered by a steady increase in the number of loans in foreclosure.

One month later, and LPS' market analysis show that the national delinquency rate (including loans that are 30 or more days past due but not yet in foreclosure) rose 0.8 percent during January to 8.90 percent.

The foreclosure inventory rate, which LPS defines as loans that have been referred to a foreclosure attorney but have not yet reached the final stage of foreclosure sale, inched up 0.2 percent last month to 4.16 percent. LPS says the number of loans currently winding their way through the foreclosure process is nearly 8 percent higher than a year ago at this time.

Of the 6.92 million mortgages going unpaid in the United States, LPS market analysis shows that 2.20 million are already in the process of foreclosure. The other 4.72 million are one or more payments overdue, with 2.16 million of these languishing in the 90-plus days delinquent bucket.

LPS says the states with highest percentage of non-current loans last month were Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, Georgia, and New Jersey.

States with the lowest percentage of non-current loans included Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota.