"Market data collected by Lender Processing Services (LPS) during the month of September reveals that foreclosure timelines continue to increase, with borrowers in the latest stages of delinquency or in foreclosure languishing without having made a mortgage payment for up to 16 months.

The company’s Mortgage Monitor report released Wednesday illustrates the extreme congestion in foreclosure pipelines. LPSnotes that the average time a loan remains delinquent in five particular judicial states – New York, Florida, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Maine – now exceeds 500 days.

At the same time, LPS says the foreclosure timeline extension has been significantly more pronounced in non-judicial states, as well.

Timelines in the 90-days-or-greater delinquency category have continued to increase even as inventories have declined. As of the end of September, 32 percent of 90-days-or-greater delinquencies could be categorized as “extremely delinquent,” with borrowers not having made payments for 12 months or more, according to LPS’ report.

The average days delinquent for loans in the 90-days-or-greater delinquency category is 316 days. The average loan in foreclosure has not had a payment made in 484 days.

Based on its analysis of nearly 40 million mortgages across the spectrum of credit products, LPS found that approximately 275,000 loans started foreclosure during the month of September.

The company says while delinquencies in September dropped 7.8 percent as compared to a year ago, in the context of “normal market conditions,” delinquencies remain at historically high levels and foreclosure inventories are only slightly below all-time highs.

More than 4.3 million loans are currently 90 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure, according to LPS.

This month’s report also shows that approximately 1.13 million loans that were current at the beginning of January 2010 are at least 60 days delinquent or in foreclosure as of the end of September 2010 – a month-over-month increase of approximately 120,000 loans.

LPS says the last two months have seen an increasing trend in this new problem loan category – 1.84 percent of loans that were current six months ago are 60 or more days delinquent today.

The research firm puts the nation’s mortgage delinquency rate at 9.27 percent and the U.S. foreclosure inventory rate at 3.84 percent, for a total non-current loan rate of 13.11 percent.

LPS says the states with the highest percentage of non-current loans (defined as the total number of foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of all active loans in that state) include: Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana.

The lowest percentage of non-current loans can be found in North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana."

The original article can be found here:  http://www.dsnews.com/articles/lps-report-shows-foreclosure-timelines-continue-to-stretch-2010-11-03  - published by DSNews on 11.3.10