[crusty old prospector]

I wonder how many were delinquent a year ago? Five years ago? The world has always had a certain amount of dead beats.

[DeaconBenjamin]

A whopping 7.88 percent of all residential mortgages were at least one month late by the end of the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the MBA’s latest National Delinquency Survey.

That’s up from 6.99 percent in the third quarter of 2008 and 5.82 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, a new record high and quarter-to-quarter jump.

The delinquency rate doesn’t include loans already in foreclosure, which increased 33 basis points to 3.30 percent at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 2.04 percent a year ago.

That means a staggering 11.18 percent (seasonally adjusted) of mortgages outstanding are either late or in foreclosure.

The percentages of loans 60 days and 90 days or more past due, as well as loans in foreclosure, all set new record highs during the quarter.