Lender Processing Services announced Wednesday its release of the February 2009 LPS Mortgage Monitor, which revealed a record increase in non-agency Jumbo Prime foreclosure starts as of month-end January 2009. Non-Agency Jumbo Prime foreclosure starts have increased the most of any product — nearly 125 percent since January 2008, according to the LPS report — as foreclosure starts across all major product types have continued to climb over the past several months, despite moratoria and mitigation actions. LPS found the pace of growth in foreclosure inventory was highest in Jumbo Prime and Option ARMs. “Even over a shortened period of time, acceleration of deterioration in Jumbo Prime exceeds all other product,” read the report. While jumbo prime and Option ARMs lead the way, foreclosure inventories, overall, also continued to trend upward. The January 2009 foreclosure rate rose 7.79 percent from December to January, reaching 2.06 percent — a whopping 72.8 percent year-over-year increase. The report showed that new Origination Jumbo Prime mortgages are underperforming Agency product despite higher FICOs and comparable interest rates. Additionally, the report said 25 percent of mortgage loans modified in the fourth quarter of 2008 were delinquent by the end of January 2009. As for loss mitigation activities, LPS found efforts were focused primarily on “seriously delinquent” loans, as only 15 percent of modifications in 2008 were on loans in foreclosure. Write to Kelly Curran at [email protected]. Disclosure: The author held no relevant investment positions when this story was published. Indirect holdings may exist via mutual fund investments. HW reporters and writers follow a strict disclosure policy, the first in the mortgage trade.

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