Mortgage Delinquencies at Record High
Almost 10% of homeowners fell at least one payment behind in recent months according to a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association. This figure does not include homeowners who are already in foreclosure. Adding these cases, the delinquency figure nearly reaches 15% or one in seven homeowners. These rising numbers, (the highest since they started being recorded in 1972) are driven by, but lag behind rising unemployment. So when unemployment peaks next year, it is expected that mortgage delinquency will not hit its apex until probably 2011. This is due to the fact that home equity is the primary place that the unemployed can lean when their income dries up. Negative equity plus unemployment leads to increased foreclosures.
