The December Mortgage Monitor report, released by Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), a provider of mortgage performance data and analytics, showed that one in every 7.5 homeowners in the United States is either behind on mortgage payments or in foreclosure. The December 2009 Mortgage Monitor report is an in-depth summary of mortgage industry performance indicators based on data collected as of Nov. 30, 2009.

Total delinquencies, excluding foreclosures, increased to a record high 9.97 percent, representing a month-over-month increase of 5.46 percent and a year-over-year increase of 21.29 percent. Loans rolling to a more delinquent status totaled 5.01 percent compared to 1.52 percent of loans that improved. Of loans that were current in December 2008, 4.37 percent were either 60 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure by the end of November 2009, a rate higher than any other year for the same period.

Foreclosure inventories also continued to climb to new highs with November's foreclosure rate at 3.19 percent--a month-over-month increase of 1.46 percent and a year-over-year increase of 81.41 percent. Compared to 2005 levels, foreclosure inventories across all loans are now nearly seven times higher, while jumbo loan foreclosure inventories are nearly 100 times more than levels four years ago.

Foreclosure starts continued to decline as a result of loss mitigation efforts like the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and elevated delinquent loan volumes. The reduction in foreclosure starts, combined with the steady increase in the number of seriously delinquent loans, has resulted in an ever-growing "shadow" inventory of troubled properties.

Other key results from LPS' December Mortgage Monitor include:

► Total U.S. loan delinquency rate: 10.0 percent

► Total U.S. foreclosure inventory rate: 3.2 percent

► Total U.S. non-current* loan rate: 13.2 percent

► States with most non-current* loans: Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, Arizona, Georgia, California, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois

► States with fewest non-current* loans: North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Vermont, Colorado, Oregon and Iowa

*Non-current totals combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of active loans in that state. Totals based on LPS Applied Analytics' loan-level database of mortgage assets.

To review the full report, listen to a presentation of the report or access an executive summary, click here.

For more information, visit www.lpsvcs.com.