Last Updated: October 26. 2011 1:00AM

Derek Kravitz/ Associated Press

Today’s record-low mortgage rates are out of reach for millions of U.S. homeowners who would benefit from them most — especially in Michigan.

More than one in four homeowners with a mortgage — 11 million people — owe more than their home is worth. These “underwater” borrowers have virtually no shot at refinancing.

Michigan has the second highest underwater rate in the nation at 58.2 percent in September, according to RealtyTrac, a California foreclosure tracking company. The plight of underwater borrowers is a drag on the economy and housing market.

The Obama administration is hoping at least 1 million of these borrowers will take advantage of its refinancing program under more lenient rules unveiled Monday. Homeowners who are current on their payments will be eligible to refinance no matter how much their home’s value has dropped.

Still, it’s unclear how many borrowers will benefit. Lenders will remain under no obligation to refinance a mortgage they hold.

A growing number of these people are missing mortgage payments and falling into foreclosure.

Underwater homeowners are paying an average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 5.7 percent, according to an analysis of mortgage data by CoreLogic and the Associated Press. That compares with today’s average rate of 4.11 percent on a 30-year fixed mortgage. For a homeowner with a $250,000 mortgage, the lower rate would save more than $200 a month.

For many Americans, a few hundred dollars each month would mean the difference between paying their mortgage on time and in full and losing, or walking away from, their home.

Dan and Maggie Micoff bought a two-bedroom home in Marine City in St. Clair County in 2003. They paid $119,000. Eight years later, they’re underwater with a 6 percent loan.

If they could refinance, the Micoffs, both 58, could shave at least $120 from their monthly bill. “The banks won’t work with us,” Maggie Micoff said. “We helped bail them out, and now we can’t even get a personal loan to get by.”

Whether the administration’s revamped mortgage refinancing program will reach more Americans this time is unclear, said Mark Vitner, senior U.S. economist at Wells Fargo.

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