More people late with home loan payments

06.02.09
By Sarah Beldo

News about American homeowners falling behind on their mortgage loan payments is nothing new - and new forecasts from TransUnion suggest the trend is likely continue, at least in the short term.

According to the credit bureau's data, the proportion of borrowers who were 60 or more days late with a home loan payment rose during the first quarter of 2009 to reach 5.22 percent.

The latest findings reflect the ninth consecutive quarter in which this ratio went up. During the final three months of 2008, the figure stood at 4.58 percent.

Nevada and Florida - among the states which have suffered the most during the housing market downturn - had the highest proportion of home loan payments at least 60 days late.

However, when considering the highest total dollar amount of mortgage debt, California came out on top, with an average of $365,192 owed per borrower.

Looking at the year-over-year change, it becomes apparent how prevalent mortgage delinquency has become. Compared to the first quarter of 2008, the rate of delinquency has risen by 62 percent.

Offering some analysis on the country's current situation, Keith Carson of TransUnion said that although mortgage delinquencies are increasing, the growth rate is also slowing - which could suggest the U.S. is beginning to move out of a recession.

However, he also predicted that "unemployment and deflated housing prices" would continue to push up delinquency rates through the rest of 2009.

"Credit performance generally lags economic conditions," Carson explained.

TransUnion looks at approximately 27 million credit report files to assemble its statistics and analysis.

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Nevada and Florida had the highest proportion of home loan payments at least 60 days late.