Lender Processing Services (LPS) said today that the national foreclosure pre-sale inventory is at its lowest level since 2008.  The inventory, the number of loans that are in some stage of foreclosure, now represents 2.54 percent of mortgaged homes.  The rate dropped 3.23 percent from September to October and is nearly 30 percent below its level in October 2012.  There are now 1.276 million homes in the inventory.

The information was included in LPS' regular preview of its monthly Mortgage Monitor.  The Monitor presents loan-level information from the LPS database representing approximately 70 percent of the mortgage market.  The full report will be published by December 9.

LPS said in October there were 3.152 million mortgage loans that were 30 or more days past due but not yet in foreclosure, a delinquency rate of 6.28 percent.  This is a decrease of 2.80 percent since September and 10.69 percent year-over-year.   Of these delinquent loans, 1.283 million are seriously delinquent, that is 90 or more days past due but not yet in foreclosure. 

Including delinquent loans and loans in the foreclosure inventory there were 4.43 million distressed mortgages throughout the U.S. in October.  Mississippi has moved into first position among states with the highest percentage of non-current loans.  It is followed by Florida, New Jersey, New York and Louisiana.