4% Mortgage Delinquency Rate

For the quarter ended September 30, 3.96% of people holding a mortgage were at least 60 days behind in payments, compared with 2.56% in the 2007 third quarter. "It's nothing short of staggering," said Ezra Becker, principal consultant in TransUnion's financial services group. Becker noted the rate had hovered at about 2% for years, until the second quarter 2007, when it started climbing. Moreover, the climb is not likely going to slow, he said. "Our projections are that it's not only going to be increasing but it's increasing at a faster pace," he said. The fourth quarter of 2008 could see the percentage of mortgages past due jump as high as 4.6 to 4.7%, he said, an estimate that reflects the recession and rising unemployment rates. "This is more pessimistic than what we would have forecast a quarter ago," he acknowledged. The highest delinquency rates continue to be in Florida, at 7.8%, Nevada, at 7.7%, California, at 5.8% and Arizona, at 5.5%.