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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ild who wrote (15254)	6/14/2004 1:16:53 PM
From: ild	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

(Dow Jones)--Fewer U.S. households were behind on their mortgage payments in the first quarter of last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday. The overall, seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one- to four-family residential properties fell to 4.33% in the first quarter from 4.49% in the fourth quarter, MBA said. A year earlier, the delinquency rate was 4.85% in the first quarter of 2003. "With the ongoing strength of the economy during the first quarter of 2004, delinquency rates continued their fall from post-recession peaks in the second quarter of 2003," MBA chief economist Doug Duncan said. "An expectation of strong job growth for the rest of the year and continued strength in the housing market bodes well for lower delinquency and foreclosure rates in the upcoming quarters," Duncan said. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process fell to 1.27% in the first quarter, down from the fourth-quarter rate of 1.29%. More loans started the foreclosure process during the first quarter, however. The percentage of loans entering foreclosure rose to 0.46%, up slightly from 0.45% in the fourth quarter.