The delinquency rate – which includes mortgage loans that are at least one payment past due but not loans in the process of foreclosure – dropped to its lowest level since the first quarter of 2008 at the end of last year. The improvement brought the seasonally adjusted rate down to 6.39 percent of all loans, close to the historical average of around 5 percent. The data – from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey – also showed that the foreclosure inventory was at its lowest level since 2008 as well. Michael Frantantoni, MBA’s chief economist and senior vice president of research and industry technology, said there continues to be substantial improvement in both delinquency and foreclosure rates, with most measures now back to pre-crisis levels. The delinquency rate, at its peak in 2010, was more than 10 percent of all loans. More here.