Search the San Diego MLS
(includes all areas in San Diego County)

November 24, 2011

US Mortgage Delinquency Rate Falls to 3-Year Low
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday that delinquencies on US mortgages fell to their lowest level in three years in the third quarter, an encouraging sign for the nation's long-struggling housing market. The MBA report that the delinquency rate, after adjustments for various seasonal factors, fell from 8.44 percent in the second quarter to 7.99 percent in the July-to-September period, the lowest its been since 2008's final three months.

Michael Fratantoni, the MBA's vice president of research and economics, indicated that the decline in delinquency is not all that surprising, considering the modest improvement in the overall economy over the last few quarters. Unemployment has remained at the same level, which has been sufficient to allow fewer homeowners to fall behind on their house payments.

The number of US homeowners in some stage of the foreclosure process, meanwhile, was unchanged in the third quarter at 4.43 percent, slightly higher than the 4.39 percent from the third quarter a year ago. That figure includes homeowners who had fallen behind by at least two payments, as well as those on whom banks had initiated foreclosure proceedings.

Search La Jolla Real Estate