Mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies continued to increase in Ohio and Michigan during the late summer as the economy and unemployment continue to ravage the housing market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said yesterday.
Michigan, which has the highest jobless rate in the nation at 15.1 percent, had the fourth-highest percentage of home mortgages in delinquency and the fifth-highest percentage of loans in foreclosure of any state during the third quarter.
Payments were late on one of every eight mortgages in Michigan during the third quarter, while almost 4.5 percent were in the foreclosure process.
Ohio had the 11th-highest rate in both categories, the association said in its latest report. In Ohio, 10.7 percent of loans were delinquent last quarter, while 4.6 percent of loans were in foreclosure.
Nationwide, the percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started rose to 1.42 percent in the third quarter - an all-time high - up from 1.36 percent in the second quarter and 1.07 percent in the third quarter of 2008.
In both Ohio and Michigan, delinquency and foreclosure actions were far more likely to occur in loans involving subprime borrowers - those with lower credit scores or who had made less of a down payment - or with loans with adjustable interest rates.In Ohio, for example, the delinquency rate for subprime adjustable rate mortgages was nearly one of every three borrowers. For prime-rated borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages, the late-payment rate was one of every 10 loans.
Rising U.S. unemployment pro-pelled more mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, a trend that will continue into next year, the national trade group said.
"It is all about unemployment. Everything else is secondary," said Jay Brinkman, the group's chief economist.
"We expect unemployment to keep rising into the first quarter of 2010, which means we will most likely see even higher rates of delinquencies and foreclosures."
Nationally, 9.64 percent of mortgages had delinquent payments, breaking the record set last quarter. The figures go back to 1972. The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure.
The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process nationwide last quarter was 4.47 percent, up slightly from the second quarter of 2009 and a full 1.5 percentage points higher than the same quarter a year ago.
Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:
lvellequette@theblade.com
or 419-724-6091.
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