US problem mortgages hit new high
By Eileen Connelly |
November 18, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
The pace at which people fell behind on their mortgages in the United States slowed during the summer for the third consecutive quarter, but the overall delinquency rate hit another record, a new report shows.
For the three months ended on September 30, 6.25 percent of mortgage loans were 60 or more days late, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. That's up 58 percent from 3.96 percent a year ago.
Being two months behind is considered a first step toward foreclosure, because it's hard to catch up with payments at that point.
The rate was up 7.6 percent from the second quarter. That's a much smaller jump than the 11.3 percent rise in the second quarter from the first, and the 14 percent leap seen in the quarter before that.
While the slowing growth rate is a positive sign, the increase shows there are still a lot of problematic mortgages out there, said FJ Guarrera, vice president of TransUnion's financial services division.
Two things must get better before mortgage delinquency rates start reversing themselves, he said: home values and unemployment.
"Until we see improvement in both of those areas, it's possible that it will take longer for delinquency to improve," Guarrera said.
The statistics, culled from TransUnion's database of 27 million consumers, show that mortgage delinquencies remain highest in Nevada, where the rate reached 14.5 percent, up from 7.7 percent a year ago, Florida (13.3 percent, up from 7.8 percent), Arizona (10.4 percent, up from 5.5 percent) and California (10.2 percent, up from 5.8 percent).
The average mortgage debt per borrower nationwide edged up to US$193,121 in the third quarter, from US$192,287 last year.
For the three months ended on September 30, 6.25 percent of mortgage loans were 60 or more days late, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. That's up 58 percent from 3.96 percent a year ago.
Being two months behind is considered a first step toward foreclosure, because it's hard to catch up with payments at that point.
The rate was up 7.6 percent from the second quarter. That's a much smaller jump than the 11.3 percent rise in the second quarter from the first, and the 14 percent leap seen in the quarter before that.
While the slowing growth rate is a positive sign, the increase shows there are still a lot of problematic mortgages out there, said FJ Guarrera, vice president of TransUnion's financial services division.
Two things must get better before mortgage delinquency rates start reversing themselves, he said: home values and unemployment.
"Until we see improvement in both of those areas, it's possible that it will take longer for delinquency to improve," Guarrera said.
The statistics, culled from TransUnion's database of 27 million consumers, show that mortgage delinquencies remain highest in Nevada, where the rate reached 14.5 percent, up from 7.7 percent a year ago, Florida (13.3 percent, up from 7.8 percent), Arizona (10.4 percent, up from 5.5 percent) and California (10.2 percent, up from 5.8 percent).
The average mortgage debt per borrower nationwide edged up to US$193,121 in the third quarter, from US$192,287 last year.
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