WASHINGTON — The foreclosure hammer is hitting ever harder.
People lost their homes at the highest rate on record in the first three months of the year, and late payments soared to a new high, too — an alarming sign that the housing crisis and its damage to the national economy may only get worse.
Nearly 1 percent, or roughly 447,723 loans, fell into foreclosure during the January- to-March period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday in its quarterly snapshot of the mortgage market.
That surpassed the previous high of 0.83 percent over the last three months in 2007.
The report also found that more homeowners slipped behind on their monthly payments. The delinquency rate jumped to 6.35 percent — or 2.87 million loans — compared with 5.82 percent for the previous three months. Payments are considered delinquent if they are 30 or more days past due.
The rates of new foreclosures and late payments were the highest on record going back to 1979.
In Colorado, 4 percent of mortgages were delinquent, with 2.12 percent of loans in foreclosure at the end of the quarter.
As it was nationally, subprime adjustable-rate mort gages were the most likely to default, with 13 percent in foreclosure and another 13.7 percent delinquent.
