No. 1 for risk: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. It's an area that tops a lot of "problem" lists related to housing.

These rankings, based on economic factors such as unemployment and the direction of home prices, are for the first three months of the year. The Baltimore metro area was a bit lower on the risk list at the end of last year -- 76th.

The Washington metro area, meanwhile, was judged a much riskier 25th. But that's an improvement from the end of last year, when it was 13th.

Here's what First American CoreLogic says about mortgage troubles nationwide:

The continuing decline in house prices has created a self-reinforcing feedback loop, where lower prices lead to more defaults and excess housing inventory, which in turn cause demand to decline and prices to fall further, and so on. This downward cycle poses substantial ongoing difficulties for the U.S. economy, not least of which are its devastating effects on personal wealth and consumer spending. Until home prices and the economy stabilize, mortgage risk will remain very high.