December's Latest News

5. Late Mortgage Payments and Foreclosures Rise
(Source: NY Times)

The number of people paying their mortgages late — or not paying them at all — increased in recent months, led by a rise in homeowners with troubled credit histories.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said today that a survey of more than 42 million mortgages found that the rate of delinquencies and foreclosures rose to 4.7 percent from July through September, up from 4.4 percent in the second quarter.

Among borrowers who are considered subprime because of their questionable credit, however, the delinquency rates were much higher. Subprime borrowers who had past-due payments or whose home was foreclosed rose to 12.6 percent in the third quarter, from 11.7 percent in the second quarter.

Subprime loans, which tend to run roughly three percentage points or more above the rates available to people with strong credit, have become the fastest-growing segment of the mortgage industry.