Fewer Dallas-area homeowners are far behind on mortgage payments

The number of Dallas-area homeowners who are extremely late with their loan payments has dropped to its lowest level since last October.

In May, 5.67 percent of Dallas-area home-mortgage holders were 90 days or more behind on their loan payments, according to a report by researchers at CoreLogic Inc.

That's down from a peak of 6.09 percent of homes with severe mortgage delinquency in January. It also marks the fourth consecutive month of improvement, according to data released Wednesday.

May's local late loan payment rate is still higher than it was a year ago, when 4.44 percent of borrowers were late by three months or more.

And the percentage of homes in the Dallas area that are falling into foreclosure is still growing. In May, 1.61 percent of Dallas-area residences with mortgages were in foreclosure, up from 1.13 percent in May 2009.

Read more>