Delinquency rate for US mortgage loans rises to a record high in Q2

The delinquency rate for US mortgage loans rose to a record high in the second quarter, driven by high unemployment and surge in prime fixed-rate loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Thursday.

The combined percentage of loans in foreclosure and at least one payment past due was 13.16 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the highest ever recorded in the MBA delinquency survey.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.24 per cent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the second quarter of 2009, up 12 basis points from the first quarter of 2009, and up 283 basis points from one year ago.

The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started during the second quarter was 1.36 per cent, down one basis point from last quarter and up 28 basis points from one year ago.

The percentages of loans 90 days or more past due and loans in foreclosure both set new record highs, breaking records set last quarter. The percentage of loans 30 days past due is still well below the record set in the second quarter of 1985.

With prime fixed-rate loans having showing the biggest increase-a sign that mortgage performance is once again being driven by unemployment, prime fixed-rate loans now account for one in three foreclosure starts, said MBA.