Distressed

While consumer distress in auto and personal loans also picked up, the pace of growth among mortgages was atypical, Vantagescore's monthly credit gauge said.

Foreclosure activity surged in the first quarter, underscoring the growing need for borrower support as certain federal protections expired.

Nationally, starts are higher even when seasonal differences are accounted for and in some areas distress is far above the U.S. average, Attom found.

Foreclosure filings increased 7% in January from December, which could be a housing market starting to experience trouble, or a post-holiday return to normal.

News reports of the negative impact to borrowers from the partial claims program's discontinuation, and a letter from Senate Democrats, appear to have prompted the statement.

But the volume of activity for distressed properties is still lower than the historic norms, Attom Data Solutions said.

The amount of distressed assets rose 10% in the first three months of the year, according to a new report from MSCI Real Assets.

But when compared past periods of upheaval, those rates remain relatively low, the Mortgage Bankers Association report showed.

Consumers are receiving demand letters on loans they have not had any communication about in at least 10 years, the regulator said.

Most of the activity covered vacant and abandoned properties or commercial loans, according to Attom Data Solutions.