Rhode Island’s rates of mortgage delinquency, foreclosure and new foreclosure starts all fell less than 1 percent in the third quarter of 2013, compared with the second quarter, according to statistics released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Still, more than 1 in 10 mortgages in Rhode Island are either in foreclosure or behind in payments, well above historical norms.

Nationally, Rhode Island ranked 13th in delinquencies and 9th in new foreclosures started during the third quarter. The numbers come from the association’s quarterly National Delinquency Survey.

Rhode Island’s delinquency rate was 7.84 percent of mortgage loans, compared with a national rate of 6.67 percent for one-to-four-unit residential properties.

The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least 30 days past due, but it does not include loans in foreclosure. Rhode Island’s foreclosure rate in the third quarter was 3.25 percent, compared with a national rate of 3.08 percent.

For new foreclosures started during the quarter, Rhode Island’s rate was 0.75 percent, while nationally, that rate was 0.61 percent.

Jay Brinkmann, the chief economist for the bankers’ group, said the continuing high foreclosure rate is due to “underlying economic factors impacting the housing markets,” though “we’re also working through the problems of the past,” referring to the many unsustainable loans that led to massive numbers of foreclosures and the banking crisis of 2008.

http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20131107