Americans have continued to get better about paying their mortgages on time, as Lending Processing Services reported a drop in delinquencies in August.
LPS' preliminary report for the August 2012 mortgage market showed a 2.3 percent decline in the delinquency rate from July. On a year-over-year basis, delinquencies dropped 10.6 percent. The total rate for loans 30 days or more past due but not in foreclosure was 6.87 percent.
The states with the highest percentage of delinquent loans were Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada and New York, while Montana, Arkansas, South Dakota, Wyoming and North Dakota had the lowest percentage of non-current loans.
The Garden State has been one of the worst-performing states since the collapse of the housing market.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told Bloomberg News that New Jersey's market is being hurt by its economy, which is one of the weakest in the United States.
The state's judicial review of all foreclosures is one of the reasons that it has so many delinquent loans, as the process delays home seizures to try and help borrowers. However, Bloomberg said that this review process could potentially hold down home prices for many years to come.
