Rate Of Borrowers With Delinquent Mortgages Drops

DETROIT (WWJ) - The rate of borrowers who are 60 or more days delinquent in their mortgage payments dropped for the 5th straight quarter.

WWJ's Rob Sanford said the statistics are getting better, but numbers are still not anywhere near where they were a few years ago.

According to TransUnion, credit and information management company, while the first quarter numbers beat their forecast, they still feel delinquencies will remain flat or slow in their decline.

Six states showed increases, with South Dakota leading the way at 14 percent of all mortgages in arrears. The highest overall rates of delinquencies were in Florida and Nevada.

Tim Martin of TransUnion said it could take years for the rate to reach pre-recession levels

"It's down a little bit, quarter over quarter, but it's down eight-and-a-half percent year over year. On the other hand, they're still well elevated versus the pre-recession norm of just under two percent," Martin said.

Experts believe until consumer confidence returns, demand for real estate credit will continue to remain sluggish.