Home owners missed payments on almost 6.5 percent of home loans on one to four unit residential properties during the first quarter of 2008. Almost 2.5 percent of all home loans were in foreclosure during the same quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Both delinquencies and foreclosures increased from fourth quarter 2007, albeit slightly.

“Delinquency rates normally peak at the end of the year and drop to their lowest point for the year at the end of the first quarter,” the MBA explained. These numbers buck that trend but not by much.

Both the delinquency rate and the foreclosure rate are the highest they’ve been since 1979. Subprime loans represent the majority of these delinquent and foreclosed loans.

And the states with the most troubles are CA, FL, AZ and NV. The four of them combined represent:

62 percent of all foreclosures started on prime ARM loans, and 84 percent of the increase in prime ARM foreclosures

49 percent of all of the subprime ARM foreclosures started in the country during the first quarter, and were responsible for 93 percent of the increase in subprime ARM foreclosures

29 percent of prime fixed-rate foreclosures and 60 percent of the increase in those foreclosures

25 percent of subprime fixed-rate foreclosures and 53 percent of the increase in those
foreclosures.

June 5, 2008.