In Utah, 8.4 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are either behind on their payments or in foreclosure, and on a national level now even those with good credit and fixed rates are starting to suffer.

Although the state's rate is up nearly 4 percentage points from the first quarter in 2008, it remains well below the record 12.1 percent nationally, according to a report Thursday from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Figures show 28 states have a higher foreclosure rate than Utah. In defaults, Utah has the 15th-lowest rate. Many, but not all defaults translate into foreclosures in which homeowners lose their property.

Some Utah families are having difficulty paying their mortgages because of a job loss or reduction in business income, while others have adjustable-rate loans that reset at higher rates, pushing their payments beyond what they can easily afford to pay.

For Brian Bunton of Orem, it was a bit of both. Business at Bunton's corporate video production company began to slow down dramatically last year, which made it tougher for his family to make ends meet. But his efforts in December to refinance out of an adjustable-rate 8.3 percent home loan were unsuccessful, and Bunton and his wife began to contemplate bankruptcy.

Only after four months of missed mortgage payments did his lender agree to modify his loan, which is now at 4.2 percent for five years, after which it rises, but only to 4.78 percent.

"By being able to save $500 a month, I think we're going to be able to avoid bankruptcy," he said.

Agencies that provide foreclosure counseling are seeing an increase in families such as the Buntons who are having difficulty paying their mortgages.

Kenn Stremme, homeless/housing assistance center manager for Your Community Connection in Ogden, said his agency used to see one or two people a week who had fallen behind. Now, the case load is 15.

"The whole economic situation we're in right now, it's more difficult."

Mark Knold, chief economist with the Utah Department of Workforce Services, said he's not convinced that Utah's delinquency and foreclosure rates will reach record-breaking levels.

Even at 8.4 percent, the state is still well off its record high set in 1988, when nearly 11 percent of borrowers were either past due or in foreclosure.

The state's downturn is showing signs of bottoming, a factor working in the state's favor. Foreclosures are aggravated by job losses, and "I think the worst of Utah's job losses have already happened," he said.

On a national level, an especially troubling trend is the increase in the foreclosure rate on prime fixed-rate loans, which has doubled in the past year and now represents the largest share of new foreclosures. Prime loans -- those made to borrowers with good credit -- and fixed-rate loans traditionally have been the least risky.

Yet in the first three months of the year, nearly 6 percent of U.S. fixed-rate mortgages held by prime borrowers were either past due or in the foreclosure process. In Utah, only about 4.1 percent of mortgages held by these borrowers were past due or in foreclosure.

At the same time, nearly half of all adjustable-rate loans in the country made to borrowers with shakier credit were either past due or in foreclosure. In Utah, only about 36 percent of loans in that category were either past due or in foreclosure.

The highest rates of foreclosures continue be in states such as California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, which accounted for 46 percent of new foreclosures in the country, according to the report.

The pain, however, is spreading throughout the country as job losses take their toll. The number of newly laid off people requesting jobless benefits fell last week, the government said today, but the number of people receiving unemployment benefits was the highest on record. Without a steady job, it is harder for lenders to help these borrowers with loan modifications.

President Barack Obama's recent loan modification and refinancing plan might stem some foreclosures, but may not be enough to significantly alter the crisis.

"It may be too much to say that numbers will fall because of the plan. It's more correct to say that the numbers won't be as high," said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

lesley@sltrib.com