Ten Percent of U.S. Home Owners Missed a Payment in Summer 2010

Depressing news from the the Mortgage Bankers Association released today, nearly 10% of all American homeowners, thus 1 out of 10 with a mortgage had missed at least one payment in Q2 2010.

(Washington Post) The percentage of mortgages somewhere in the foreclosure process during the second quarter of this year was 4.57 percent, down slightly from the first quarter number of 4.63 percent. However, the number is still up from where it was this time last year: 4.3 percent.

"When I'm asked, 'Are things getting better or worse?' my answer is like most things these days," Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist Jay Brinkmann said in a call today. "It is a combination of good news and not-so-good news. And there are areas of concern even with the good news."

Brinkmann reported small drops in several mortgage categories compared to the first quarter of this year: seriously delinquent loans, foreclosures and mortgages that are 90 days past due.

Those positive numbers are the result of three causes, Brinkmann said. The bad news: two of those three causes are going away.

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source: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-economy/2010/08/foreclosures_up_from_last_summ.html?hpid=topnews