Here are the latest numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association Survey about Delinquencies for Q1 10.

Sub-prime mortgages continue to dominate a lion’s share of the delinquencies nationally at a rate of 41.15% of all such loans.

An area of concern now is the FHA mortgage, which is/was the prime method of purchases in the past couple of years.  The delinquency rate is an alarming 16.02%. Given how often this product was used, this number should be growing in the coming months.

The total delinquency for all mortgages:  14.01%.

What is the cause? Under-employment nationally was at 16.7% nationally as of April 2010.

As I have said over and over again, until we can address the unemployment issue, people will continue to have difficulties paying their mortgages.  Any reasonable person will pay their grocery bills over their mortgage payments.

Unfortunately, the prime borrowers are now failing to pay their mortgage rates at an increasing rate; I am seeing this more and more as a San Jose Short Sale Agent.  This trend becomes problematic as the prime market represents 80% of the mortgage market. The delinquency rate for prime borrowers is at 6.4%, compared to sub-prime borrowers whose delinquency rate is an astonishing 25,4%!

The unemployment issue which is devastating the economy is the culprit behind this problem and makes it difficult for this segment whose good credit scores  would otherwise have given them access to either credit or equity in their homes to ride out their unemployment in the past.  Such options are no longer available to them.