The recession is ending, depending on whose opinion you believe, but even though economists and business people may want you to believe that the recession is over, there is still a problem that hasn’t reached its peak – foreclosures. Money.com reports that about 9% of homeowners are delinquent on their mortgages and the number is intended to rise in the fall.

What the rate does not include, however, are loans already in foreclosure. Some 4.3% of all the mortgages are in that stage, up from 3.85% three months earlier and 1.55 percentage points from one year ago.

Even if all of the people who are unemployed or underemployed try to recover and begin paying their mortgages again, it may take a while for people to recover if they haven’t already entered into the foreclosure.

The Mortgage Bankers Association also notes that “The states of California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada continue to have a disproportionately high share of foreclosure starts, although the share has fallen slightly from last quarter. Those four states had 44 percent of all of the nation’s new foreclosures during the second quarter of this year, down from 46 percent in the first quarter.”

Just because the numbers are dropping on the foreclosure rates doesn’t mean that the problem is over.  The delinquency rates are breaking records and being the highest ever since the MBA began keeping records in 1972.

The MBA’s final statement says it all…

“As for the outlook, it is unlikely we will see meaningful reductions in the foreclosure and delinquency rates until the employment situation improves. In addition, in some areas where a number of borrowers have mortgages that are larger than the current value of their homes, any life events such a divorce or loss of a job are likely to translate into foreclosures until prices in those areas recover, not just flatten.