The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that roughly 1 percent — or 447,723 loans — fell into foreclosure during the first three months of this year, marking a new record. “Americans’ equity in their homes — usually their single biggest asset — now has dropped to the lowest level on record in figures going back to the end of World War II. Homeowners’ portion of equity fell to 46.2 percent, which means the amount of debt tied up in their homes exceeds the equity they have built up.”