It’s tough to pay the mortgage when you don’t have a job: [Hat tip CPGone!]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – High U.S. unemployment keeps pushing up the rate of mortgage delinquencies, which could in turn drive personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures, monthly data from the Equifax Inc credit bureau showed on Monday.
Among U.S. homeowners with mortgages, a record 7.58 percent were at least 30 days late on payments in August, up from 7.32 percent in July, according to the data obtained exclusively by Reuters.
But is the problem improving? Apparently not:
August marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase in delinquencies, and the report showed an accelerating pace. By comparison, 4.89 percent of mortgages were 30 days past due in August 2008, while in August 2007, the rate was 3.44 percent, Equifax data showed.
The rate of subprime mortgage delinquencies now tops 41 percent, up from about 39 percent in each of the prior five months.
The results, which correlate with consumer bankruptcy filings, suggest U.S. homeowners remain under financial stress despite signs of improving sentiment and fundamentals in the U.S. housing market.
Uh, gee, my sources tell me banks are not reporting mortgages which are late, anymore, so your figures are probably wrong.
Uncle Sam doesn’t want them too.
Anyway, this is one of the very clear signals that Uncle Sam has moved from his home, the United States.
Who coerced people into buying tickytackies in the first place? Uncle Sam. Who provided the income to pay the mortgages? Uncle Sam. Now who is refusing to increase unemployment compensation high enough so that people can pay their mortgages?
Can you add 1 and 1?
I noticed I have not been getting credit card applications in the mail anymore, same for the HELOCS. Something is definitely up. Those banksters were on hands and knees trying to get me to spend money, now they have gone quiet.
jryskmpr,
ok….i am just curious. you keep saying that the gov’t has “banned” banks from foreclosing and now, that the banks aren’t releasing delinquent mortgages. so where are all of these foreclosures coming from? and where are all of the stats related to delinquencies and foreclosures coming from?
@ toysarefun: I squelched the credit card apps by going to OptOutPrescreen.com. Sent those credit card hounds off to bay at someone else’s mailbox.
As for the HELOC ads? I think that the aforementioned website scared them off too.
Oh there are foreclosures, but even the “shadow” inventory doesn’t begin to account for what lenders are keeping off their books.