3Q09 - Delinquencies up, rate slows

3Q09 - Delinquencies up, rate slows

According to credit reporting agency TransUnion, delinquent mortgages were up 58% from 3.96% a year ago, and as of Sept. 30, 6.25% of U.S. mortgage loans were 60 or more days past due. Two months delinquency is considered a first step toward foreclosure because it's hard for homeowners to catch up with payments at that point. The rate of delinquency is slowing, however. The rate was up 7.6% from the second quarter -- a much smaller jump than the 11.3% rise in the second quarter and a 14% rise seen in the quarter before that. F.J. Guarrera, vice president of TransUnion's financial services division, says that while the slower rate is encouraging, the co9ntinual increase shows there are still a lot of problematic mortgages out there.

Mortgage delinquencies remain highest in the four states where the crisis has hit the worst: in Nevada, the rate reached 14.5%, up from 7.7% a year ago; in Florida, the rate was 13.3%, up from 7.8% last year; in Arizona, the rate hit 10.4%, up from 5.5% in 2008; and in California, the rate jumped to 10.2%, from 5.8% last year. Two things have to get better before mortgage delinquency rates start reversing themselves: 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.

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