Yesterday it was reported that sales of existing US homes declined as did consumer confidence. The overall economy is in a slowdown since the big gross domestic product gains of the fourth quarter. Manufacturing has showed signs of a slowdown and the index of leading economic indicators has also recently dipped. Even Walmart, the place to find falling prices, reported a decrease in earnings the first quarter.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said that the percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages fell in the first quarter. The recent delinquency rate was 8.1% down from 8.6% in the fourth quarter and approximately 9.5% in the first quarter of last year. They said most significantly that mortgages originated during the 2005 to 2007 timeframe had the largest drop in seriously delinquent percentage. They indicated that this drop points to a sustainable drop in the percentage of mortgages that are seriously delinquent. Only time will tell.
