R.I. home foreclosure rate on the rise

PROVIDENCE - A national mortgage banker’s association says 1 in 14 Rhode Island homeowners was at least three months behind on their mortgage payments at the end of September.

The Providence Journal reports Tuesday that the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington says a new wave of mortgage default rates are being driven by job losses, declines in work hours, and other financial strains. Previous defaults had been largely driven by risky loans.

Rhode Island is behind Michigan in its rate of foreclosures initiated during the third-quarter, making it sixth-highest in the country and ahead of every other state in New England.

The state’s third-quarter delinquency rate - mortgages 30 days or more past due - rose to 7.3 percent, up from 5.8 percent in the year-ago period.