US mortgage delinquencies rate reaches 44%

According to monthly data from the Equifax Inc credit bureau released Monday, mortgage delinquencies level is leveraged by high US unemployment to grow. 

August appeared to become the fourth consecutive monthly increase in delinquencies, and the report showed an accelerating pace. By comparison, 4.89% of mortgages were 30 days past due in August 2008, while in August 2007, the rate was 3.44%, as Equifax data showed. The rate of subprime mortgage delinquencies currently tops 41%, growing from about 39% in each of the prior five months.

Thus, in compliance with the data got by Reuters, 7.58% of US homeowners were at least 30 days late on payments in August, up from 7.32% in July

US homeowners stay under financial stress in spite of the signs of recovering sentiment and fundamentals in the US housing market.

August bankruptcy filings grew to 32% from a previous year, compared to a 35% year-over-year increase in July.

While more Americans were late with mortgage payments, they are keeping up with other bills. The proportion of credit card accounts at least 60 days past due was down in August for the third straight month, while subprime card delinquencies also fell. That improvement in delinquency rates partly reflects risk-aversion among issuers, which have reduced the number of cards by 82 million, or 19%, over the past year, while cutting credit limits by $721 billion, to about $3.6 trillion. The number of new cards issued is also down: in June, 2.6 million new cards were issued, against 4.7 million in a previous year.

Total consumer debt is down more than $300 billion, or almost 3%, from its top level in September 2008, while the savings rate is close to 5 %.