Record-Breaking Increases in Mortgage Delinquencies
The fourth quarter Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey was released on March 5th.
Mortgage delinquencies for U.S. homes rose to over 11% in the 4th quarter of 2008. MBA reports that this is the highest level seen since the organization began keeping data in 1972.
One out of eight homeowners is now behind on one or more mortgage payments. This is a 4% increase over the rate reported in the third quarter, which was the previous record high. This was also the largest quarterly increase they have observed.
The Chief Economist for the MBA believes this increase is primarily caused by the economic downturn. New delinquencies were more evenly spread across the nation. Previously, delinquencies were concentrated in states where the housing bubble’s collapse was most severe.
We will continue to see, however, a shift away from delinquencies tied to the structure and underwriting quality of loans to mortgage delinquencies caused by job and income losses…
While California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan continue to dominate the delinquency numbers, some of the sharpest increases we saw last quarter in loans 90 days or more delinquent were in Louisiana, New York, Georgia, Texas and Mississippi, signs of the spreading impact of the recession…
Reference
Delinquencies Continue to Climb in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey
Tags: market conditions