World Economic

While borrowers in Missouri are struggling just like everywhere, they appear less likely to lose their home to foreclosure than the nation as a whole, according to new data released last week.

Roughly one in 12 mortgages in Missouri were at least 30 days past due in the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, about the same as the nation as a whole. But the share of mortgages that are at least 90 days overdue or in foreclosure is significantly less — 5 percent in Missouri compared to 8 percent nationwide, a sign that borrowers may be more likely to get out of trouble before the bank repossesses their homes.

This despite a foreclosure process in Missouri that housing advocates say is among the fastest in the country. By comparison, Illinois — which has a lengthy, court-overseen process — had 8.6 percent of its mortgages at least 90 days past due in the second quarter.

It’s unclear why fewer troubled loans in Missouri are winding up in foreclosure, or if the trend will last. But it’s the second quarter in a row that this pattern has held, and it could be a sign that mortgages here are being worked out before the homes get repossessed.

Source