Mortgage Delinquencies Head Further South

Mortgage delinquencies fell back on both a monthly and annual basis in March, according to preliminary market data released by ""Lender Processing Services"":http://www.lpsvcs.com (LPS) for the month.

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The company's estimation puts the national delinquency rate â€" measured as 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure â€" at 7.09 percent.

That's down 6.3 percent from the previous month, an 8.8 percent drop from March 2011, and is the first time since

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2006 that the delinquency rate has come in lower by both measurements, according to LPS.

The nationwide foreclosure rate stands at 4.14 percent by LPS' assessment â€" up just barely one-tenths of a percentage point from February and down 1.6 percent from a year earlier.

LPS reports that there are 2,060,000 properties that comprise the nation’s foreclosure inventory.

Another 3,531,000 have missed at least one mortgage payment but haven’t made it as far as foreclosure yet. Of those, 1,643,000 are behind by three or more payments and will likely join the foreclosure inventory soon.

Altogether, the numbers equate to 5,591,000 mortgaged properties that are in arrears.

According to LPS’ report, the states with the highest percentage of non-current loans in March â€" including 30-plus days delinquent and in foreclosure â€" were Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, and Illinois.

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