The nation’s residential foreclosure inventory decreased in December 2012 while delinquency rates increased, real estate analytics firm Lender Processing Services reported Jan. 23.

The total national foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate was 3.44 percent in December — a 1.99 percent month-over-month decline and 18 percent lower than December 2011.

The total U.S. loan delinquency rate at the end of December was 7.17 percent, which represents a 0.74 percent increase from November, but is down 9.11 percent from a year ago.

LPS also reported that more than 3.5 million homes were 30 or more days past due but not yet in foreclosure, and that approximately 1.5 million housing units were seriously delinquent but not yet in foreclosure. The number of residential properties in the foreclosure pre-sale inventory was 1.7 million at the end of December.

States with the highest percentage of noncurrent loans were Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada and New York. States with the lowest percentage of delinquent loans were Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Read the LPS report.