Slightly fewer home foreclosure cases in Hawai'i were begun in the third quarter compared with the second quarter, but the number of pending foreclosures and the number of delinquent mortgages that aren't yet in foreclosure both rose.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that out of its sample of 167,363 Hawai'i loans, foreclosure proceedings were started against 1.27 percent, or 2,126 loans, from July to September. That was down slightly from 1.31 percent, or 2,200 loans, in the prior quarter.

Among all states, Hawai'i had the 12th highest rate of foreclosure starts, though the national rate was worse, at 1.42 percent.

Hawai'i foreclosure cases overall — new and ongoing — were pending against 4.18 percent, or 6,996, of the surveyed loans at the end of the third quarter. That was up from 3.78 percent, or 6,347 loans, in the prior quarter.

By that measure, Hawai'i ranked 10th worst among states.

The number of pending foreclosure cases counted by the trade association is roughly triple that of foreclosure case filings tracked by California-based research firm RealtyTrac, which for the same three months counted 2,828 Hawai'i foreclosure filings.

RealtyTrac counts default notices that signal the start of a foreclosure, auction notices and notices of lender repossessions. However, because most foreclosure cases in Hawai'i are initiated outside court, default notices may be dramatically undercounted by RealtyTrac.

The Mortgage Bankers survey at the national level covers an estimated 85 percent of all outstanding mortgage loans, excluding second mortgages, on property containing up to four residential units.

Based on the number of delinquent loans that have yet to enter foreclosure, the survey suggests that Hawai'i's worsening foreclosure environment is likely to continue.

Some 6.65 percent of loans, or 11,129, were 30 days or more delinquent but not in foreclosure. That figure was up from 5.84 percent, or 9,806 loans, in the second quarter.

The trade association said that seasonal factors typically result in a rise in mortgage delinquency rates from the second to third quarters, but also said that continuing job losses are expected to keep driving up mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.

"The outlook is that delinquency rates and foreclosure rates will continue to worsen before they improve," Jay Brinkmann, the association's chief economist, said in a statement.

Among all states, Hawai'i's mortgage delinquency rate was 43rd worst. Nationally, the delinquency rate was 9.64 percent.