U.S. foreclosure rates hit a record high in the last three months of 2007 and home-loan delinquency rates reached their highest levels in 22 years, according to a survey released Thursday by a real estate organization.

Georgia's delinquency rate ranked third among states, behind Mississippi and Michigan, and its foreclosure rate was 23rd, according to the report from the Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association.

The chief culprits for the home-loan woes are falling home prices and issues with subprime mortgages, said Doug Duncan, the MBA's chief economist and senior vice president of research and business development. The trend is expected to continue through mid- to-late 2008, he said.

"Our general outlook is that you should expect to see, as long as house prices are declining, some continued rises in delinquency and foreclosures," Duncan said in a conference call with journalists.

Almost 8 percent of U.S. home loans were past due or in the foreclosure process, the survey showed. The delinquency rate was 5.82 percent and the foreclosure rate 2.04 percent of all outstanding loans in the fourth quarter of 2007, according the report.

The delinquency rate was the highest since 1985 and the foreclosure rate the highest in the almost 40-year history of the MBA survey, which tracks loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties.

In Georgia, 8.37 percent of outstanding loans were delinquent, with 1.84 percent in foreclosure. U.S. figures were seasonally adjusted; state figures were not.

The Mortgage Bankers Association did not release rates by metro area, but data from Equity Depot, an Alpharetta-based firm that tallies foreclosure notices in 13 metro Atlanta counties, show the trend moving upward in the area.

In the first two months of 2008, the number of foreclosure notices issued in metro Atlanta rose by 45 percent, compared with the same period in 2007, Equity Depot reported.

Based on the numbers, Equity Depot sees no indication that conditions will change in metro Atlanta in the near future, said Mark Sulimirski, Equity Depot's chief operating officer.

"We anticipate the numbers will continue to rise at the current rate," he said.

The home-loan market could benefit from another lending rate cut by the Federal Reserve, which could lower mortgage rates, said MBA economist Duncan. Federal tax rebate checks also could help, but they would be a short-term fix and probably will not arrive to help homeowners for three to six months, he said.

Rising fuel prices and the threat of recession, though, could put a squeeze on the market and people's ability to make their monthly payments, Duncan said.

NATIONALLY

> Almost 8 percent of U.S. home loans were past due or in the foreclosure process in the fourth quarter of 2007.

> The delinquency rate was 5.82 percent of all outstanding loans.

> The foreclosure rate was 2.04 percent of all outstanding loans.

LOCALLY

> In Georgia, 8.37 percent of outstanding loans were delinquent.

> Another 1.84 percent were in foreclosure.

> In the first two months of 2008, the number of foreclosure notices issued in metro Atlanta rose by 45 percent, compared with the same period in 2007.

WHAT TO EXPECT

> Nationally: "You should expect to see, as long as house prices are declining, some continued rises in delinquency and foreclosures."

DOUG DUNCAN, the MBA

> Locally: "We anticipate the numbers will continue to rise at the current rate."

MARK SULIMIRSKI, Equity Depot