US mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures down in Q1

NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - U.S. residential mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures edged down in the first quarter of 2005 from a year earlier, a mortgage industry group said on Tuesday.

The mortgage delinquency rate was 4.31 percent at the end of the first quarter, down from 4.46 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2004 and 4.38 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The figures are seasonally adjusted and apply to one-to-four unit residential properties.

The new foreclosure rate on mortgages was 0.42 percent at the end of the first quarter, down from 0.47 percent in the year-ago quarter and 0.46 percent at the end of the fourth quarter.

The inventory of loans in the foreclosure process edged down to 1.08 percent at the end of the first quarter, from 1.29 percent in the year-ago period and 1.15 percent in the previous quarter.