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Bloomberg NewsJune 5 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure rose to the highest in almost three decades during the first quarter as borrowers who fell behind on payments were unable to sell their homes.
New foreclosures rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.99 percent of all U.S. home loans, up from 0.83 percent in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report today. The total inventory of homes in foreclosure increased to 2.47 percent and the delinquency rate, loans with one or more payments overdue, grew to 6.35 percent. All were the highest since 1979, the Washington-based trade group said.
Falling home prices have stalled U.S. real estate sales, making it difficult for people who can't pay their mortgages to sell the properties. The increase in foreclosures was led by states with the biggest price declines over the past two years, said Jay Brinkmann, MBA's vice president of research and economics. California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona accounted for 89 percent of the gain in new foreclosures, he said.
``Price drops mean that even the best borrowers who run into trouble can't get out of their mortgage by selling, particularly in those states,'' Brinkmann said in an interview. ``There's a bleed-over to the rest of the U.S. because until those markets work through their problems, investors in mortgage-backed securities are going to be nervous and credit is going to be tight for everyone.''
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