Mortgage delinquencies remain high at 1 in 10 loans

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One in 10 American households with a home loan was behind on payments by at least one month this summer, the Associated Press reported.

The wire service quoted a Mortgage Bankers Assn. report on second-quarter delinquencies as saying that 9.9% of borrowers fell into that category as of June 30.

In a worrisome sign, the number of homeowners starting to have problems paying their home loans rose after trending downward last year. But the number of homes in the actual foreclosure process fell slightly, the first drop in four years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn. quarterly report.

The report arrived amid fears that a sagging economy could result in another round of declining home prices and rising defaults.

Earlier reports this week showed weaker than expected home sales in July following the expiration this spring of federal tax credit for home buyers. Sales of new homes were at their lowest point since the government began keeping records in 1963.

-- E. Scott Reckard