LATE PAYMENTS ON MORTGAGES RISE
May 22, 2006
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Soaring housing prices and aggressive mortgage lending have saddled home buyers with ever greater levels of debt, and early signs are now emerging that more people are unable to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments, the Wall Street Journal reported. The increase in late loan payments comes as more buyers have been forced to stretch financially to afford ever costlier houses in recent years, and many homeowners have increased debt by tapping their home’s equity. Analysts say that more relaxed lending standards on the part of mortgage lenders also resulted in higher debt loads, which some borrowers are now struggling to repay. With the housing market cooling and interest rates rising, “by the end of the year you could see a substantial increase in delinquency rates” for mortgages, says Thomas Lawler, a former Fannie Mae economist and now a private housing consultant.
LATE PAYMENTS ON MORTGAGES RISE
