Foreclosures Soar in Q4

Home foreclosures and mortgage delinquency in the US saw record highs in the last three months of 2007. Reuters reports that 0.83% of US loans entered foreclosure in the fourth quarter, close to double the 0.54% of the same period in 2006. Mortgage delinquency hit 5.82%, the highest since 1985 and a percentage point higher than the year-ago period.

Most mortgage classes saw increasing failure, but subprime loans led the pack with a delinquency rate of 17.31%. Many had worried that a rise in interest rates on adjustable-rate, subprime mortgages would spur increased failure, but a Mortgage Bankers Association rep blames the borrowers’ poor credit: "The current delinquencies are due to credit quality rather than resets." (More foreclosures stories.)