U.S. home foreclosures and late mortgage payments set records during the first three months of the year and are expected to keep rising as the housing crisis continues to hurt homeowners and the overall economy. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Thursday that the proportion of mortgages that fell into foreclosure soared to nearly 1 percent in the January-March period, surpassing the previous high of 0.83 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007. The MBA report also found that more homeowners fell behind on their monthly payments. The delinquency rate jumped to 6.35 percent in the first quarter, compared with 5.82 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. Payments are considered delinquent if they 30 days past due. MBA vice president of research and economics Jay Brinkmann told the Associated Press that the slump in house prices was the biggest factor for rising foreclosures and late payments. With prices expected to keep falling, foreclosures and late payments “are going to continue to go up” in the coming months, he said.
