Mortgage Loan Delinquency Rate at It's Highest in 23 Years
March 6. 2008
The delinquency rate for U.S. mortgage loans on one-to-four unit residential properties hit its highest level in 23 years last year, according to the latest MBA National Delinquency Survey.
The MBA report says, in the fourth quarter of last year, 5.82-percent of all outstanding loans were delinquent on a seasonally-adjusted basis, which is a 23-basis point increase compared to the third quarter of 2007—and an 87-basis point jump when compared to the year before. As far as foreclosures go, the MBA says in the final quarter of last year, 2.04-percent of outstanding loans were in the foreclosure stage—a 35-basis point jump from the third quarter of 2007 and an 85-basis point jump when compared to a year ago.
In a press statement, the MBA concluded that, “The rate of loans entering the foreclosure process was 0.83-percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis, five basis points higher than the previous quarter and an increase of 29 basis points when compared to a year ago.”
The MBA's latest report says both prime and subprime loans played a role in foreclosure starts, with adjustable-rate mortgages showing a higher propensity to end up in foreclosure.
“The increase in foreclosure starts was due to increases for both prime and subprime loans,” the MBA asserted. “From the previous quarter, prime fixed rate loan foreclosure starts remained unchanged at 0.22-percent, but prime ARM foreclosure starts increased four basis points to 1.06-percent. Subprime fixed foreclosure starts increased 14-basis points to 1.52-percent and subprime ARM foreclosure starts increased 57-basis points to 5.29-percent. FHA foreclosure starts decreased 4 basis points to 0.91-percent and VA foreclosure starts remained unchanged at 0.39.”
The MBA said, in summation, subprime ARM loans make up 7-percent of all outstanding loans, but represent 42-percent of all foreclosures started in the final quarter of 2007. Meanwhile, prime ARMs represent 15-percent of outstanding loans, but only 20-percent of the foreclosures started.
By Kerri Panchuk, dsnews.com
Source
http://www.dsnews.com/view_story.cfm?id=2136 |
