ATLANTA- The economy may be recovering, but the nation’s housing market is still putting pressure on growth as mortgage delinquencies remain above pre-recession levels--and high shadow inventory levels are a major culprit. So says a new study from Equifax.

“While we are seeing stabilization across multiple sectors of lending, there remains a significant volume of delinquent first mortgage loans, which has slowed the foreclosure process,” says Craig Crabtree, senior vice president and general manager at Equifax Mortgage Services. “Until these foreclosures are processed, the mortgage market will continue to impact economic growth.”

Write-off dollars for home finance, which includes first mortgage and home equity installment loans as well as home equity revolving accounts, are still climbing and have yet to show signs of peaking. As of May 2011, Equifax shows there are about $319.7 billion in 2006 and 2007 first mortgage vintages that are in the initial foreclosure process--many of which may be written off.