The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties in Virginia stood at 7.7 percent at the end of the third quarter, up from 6.9 percent in the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Nationally, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans was 9.94 percent, up from 8.86 percent in the second quarter.

A rising proportion of fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit are sinking into foreclosure, adding to concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.

The number of homeowners on the brink of losing their homes dipped in October, the third straight monthly decline, as foreclosure-prevention programs helped more borrowers.

The Richmond area is out of the top-100 cities with the highest foreclosure rates in the country in the third quarter, according to a report being released this morning. It was No. 101 on a list of 203 metropolitan areas with populations of 200,000 or more studied by RealtyTrac, an online researcher. In all, 2,215 households, or one in every 230 households—0.44 percent of people with mortgages in the Richmond area—received a foreclosure filing from July through September.

U.S. total: 937,840 borrowers, one in every 136 households, up 22.5 percent
  Las Vegas, Paradise, Nev.: No. 1, 40,408 borrowers, one in every 20 households, up 53.62 percent
  Washington, Arlington, Alexandria: No. 46; 19,318 borrowers, one in every 110 households, up 9.25 percent
  Richmond: No. 101; 2,215 borrowers, one in every 230 households, up 89.97 percent

The number of foreclosure filings in Virginia rose 23.5 percent from June to July, as the foreclosure crisis escalated here and across the country. The statewide filings increased 11.5 percent in July from the same month a year ago, RealtyTrac reported yesterday. Filings include default notices, scheduled auction sales and bank repossessions.

The Obama administration wants to shame the mortgage industry into doing a better job of helping borrowers avoid losing their homes to foreclosure. By publishing the names of companies that are lagging in the government’s plan to ease the housing crisis, officials are counting on public outrage to get the industry on track. The Treasury Department today plans to report on the progress of loan servicers—companies that collect mortgage payments—that are in line for up to $50 billion in subsidies.

Even as Americans suffer rising unemployment, foreclosure rates in three states hit hardest by the housing bust — California, Arizona and Florida — stabilized in June, offering hope that the worst of the real estate crisis is over.

The foreclosure problem in the Richmond area has gotten worse, according to a midyear metropolitan market report released this morning by RealtyTrac. More people here are having trouble paying their mortgages, although the actual rate of foreclosures in the region is better than the national average, the online researcher reported. One in every 144 households in the Richmond area, or 0.70 percent of all households—a total of 3,549—received a foreclosure filing from January through June, the online researcher reported.

Relentlessly rising unemployment is triggering more home foreclosures, threatening the Obama administration’s efforts to end the housing crisis and diminishing hopes that the economy will rebound with vigor. In past recessions, the housing industry helped get the economy back on track. Home builders ramped up production, expecting buyers to take advantage of lower prices and jump into the market. But not this time.

RealtyTrac reported today that U.S. foreclosure activity rose to the highest quarterly total since the research company began tracking foreclosures in 2005. Foreclosure filings, which include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossession, were reported on 880,829 U.S. properties in the second quarter, up 20.3 percent from the same three-month period a year ago, the research company reported.

January 2008: 3,975, up 480 percent
  February: 3,124, up 344 percent
  March: 3,871, up 321 percent
  April: 4,256, up 296 percent
  May: 4,130, up 281 percent
  June: 4,222, up 215 percent
  July: 4,209, up 159 percent
  August: 3,957, up 18 percent
  September: 4,613, up 164 percent

Families who face foreclosure on their homes will get counseling through a $50,000 grant program announced today by Virginia Attorney General Bill Mims. The money, flowing from a settlement early this year with Countrywide Financial Corp., will be distributed by grants to non-profit agencies to counsel an estimated 200 Virginia families on how to avoid foreclosure on their homes.

Richmond businessman Allan Mullian received interest payments every month for about 10 years from his real estate investments. He invested in Richmond-area properties that Donald C. Lacey was to fix up and rent or flip at a profit. The checks stopped coming in November and he was told there was no more money. Mullian, 77, said he and his family had $2 million invested in as many as 100 properties in the Richmond area. “Losing that kind of money at my age is rough.“

Virginia will distribute $17.5 million to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed homes across the state, including $2 million for Richmond.