Although there has been a decline in the number of households that are facing foreclosure, a banking group revealed that more and more homeowners are missing their mortgage payments.

A report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed that the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process fall to 4.57% in the second quarter from 4.63% in the first quarter of the year. The association attributed the decline to various efforts to ease payments for homeowners and to the federal tax credit program.

Despite the decline, however, MBA warned that foreclosures are expected to rise in the coming months as the number of newly delinquent homeowners jumped in the months of April, May, and June. According to the report, which covers more than 85% of the market, the percentage of borrowers who are at least one payment behind continued its upward trend after settling down late last year.

“On the surface, there is good news on the foreclosure front, but not on short-term delinquencies. There’s a little pause. It could be short-term factors instead of a trend,” MBA chief economist Jay Brinkmann said.

The report also revealed that foreclosures are having a big impact on consumer confidence. Potential buyers are reportedly postponing their plans to purchase homes in hopes that an oversupply of foreclosed properties in the market will further drag down home prices.

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