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To: Benkea who wrote (44414)	3/30/2000 1:23:00 PM
From: Benkea	Respond to of 99985

So why all the fear with this: Thursday March 30, 1:20 pm Eastern Time US mortgage delinquencies near 5-yr low in Q4 1999 NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage delinquencies fell in the fourth quarter of 1999 to their lowest level since the first three months of 1995 as a robust economy and relatively low rates helped homeowners pay on time, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) said Thursday. The fourth-quarter delinquency rate fell 17 basis points from the third quarter to 3.93 percent. That was 33 basis points lower than the same year-earlier period, according to MBA. The trade group also reported that home foreclosure starts were near decade lows and the inventory of loans in the foreclosure process remained at the lowest levels since the second quarter of 1996. ``This is the lowest combined delinquency and foreclosure rate since 1973,' Paul Reid, MBA executive vice president, said in a statement. ``The longest economic expansion in U.S. history and historically low interest rates have been the primary drivers pushing the delinquency and foreclosure rates down to these levels.' MBA said the decline in the delinquency rate in the fourth quarter continued a downward trend that began in the second quarter of 1998. The rate has fallen 49 basis points over the period to its lowest level since posting 3.92 percent in the first quarter of 1995. Most of the decrease was in the 30 days past due category, which declined 14 basis points to 2.74 percent. The percentage of home loans 60 days past due was unchanged at 0.63 percent, while the percentage of loans 90 days or more past due fell three basis points to 0.56 percent, the group said. On a regional basis, MBA said fourth quarter mortgage delinquencies in the West slipped 27 basis points from the third quarter to 3.34 percent. In the Northeast, the rate was down 21 basis points to 3.67 percent while in the South it was off 15 basis points to 4.73 percent. In the North Central United States, it was down 12 basis points to 3.51 percent. The foreclosure situation changed only slightly during the final quarter of 1999. While the percentage of loans in which foreclosure started during the quarter edged up one basis point to 0.31 percent, the inventory of mortgages in the foreclosure process at the end of the quarter was unchanged at 0.98 percent, MBA said.