Home Forclosures hit record high

WASHINGTON -- Home foreclosures soared to an all-time high in the final quarter of last year, underscoring the suffering of distressed homeowners and the growing danger the housing meltdown poses for the economy.The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a quarterly snapshot of the mortgage market released Thursday, said the proportion of all mortgages nationwide that fell into foreclosure shot up to a record high of 0.83% in the October-to-December quarter. That surpassed the previous high of 0.78% set in the prior quarter."Clearly it's the worst it's been," chief association economist Doug Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press.More homeowners -- at the same time -- fell behind on their monthly payments.The delinquency rate for all mortgages climbed to 5.82% in the fourth quarter. That was up from the 5.59% in the third quarter and was the highest since 1985. Payments are considered delinquent if they are 30 or more days past due.Homeowners with tarnished credit who have subprime adjustable-rate loans were the hardest hit. Foreclosures and late payments for these borrowers also swelled to all-time highs in the fourth quarter. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/real-estate/article/home-foreclosures-hit-record-high-end-2007_509526_17.html