Utah's foreclosure rate better than most of nation

A smaller share of Utahns are losing their homes to foreclosure, bucking a national trend of increased numbers of people who can't pay their mortgages. Only 0.66 percent of Utah home loans were in the foreclosure process at the end of the third quarter, down slightly from 0.68 percent in the same three months in 2006. Utah's foreclosure rate has been falling in recent years after hitting 1.52 percent in the third quarter of 2004. Utah's rate is the fifth-lowest nationally and well below the national rate of 1.69 percent, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today in its National Delinquency Survey. The state's high ranking can be tied to the state's comparatively strong economy and its real estate market, which has had minimal exposure to the subprime lending debacle. Subprime refers to the riskiest borrowers, many of whom are having trouble repaying loans made to them in recent years. But another measure of mortgage activity is not as encouraging. Utah's delinquency rate, which measures the total share of loans that are more than 30 days past due but not yet in foreclosure, rose to 3.92 percent in the quarter, up from 3.71 percent in the third quarter. The state's delinquency rate had been decreasing in recent years.

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