The delinquency rate for residential mortgage loans at the end of the first quarter in Minnesota was 3.76 percent, a decrease of 76 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a national survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The rate excludes loans in the process of foreclosure, but the percentage of loans in the state on which foreclosure was started was also down, falling 11 basis points to 0.28 percent, while the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the quarter fell 16 basis points to 1.01 percent.

Across the nation, the average delinquency rate was 5.69 percent, down 102 basis points from 6.71 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Minnesota ranked 44th in delinquencies and 41st in foreclosures started. Mississippi ranked first in delinquencies with a rate of 10.46 percent and New Jersey ranked first in foreclosure starts with a rate of 1.06 percent. .