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14 Jul 10 Prime-Rated Mortgage Loan Security Delinquencies Increase

According to Fitch Ratings serious delinquencies of U.S. prime-rated residential mortgages rose in June from May, the 37th-straight month of sequential gains, though Alt-A and subprime mortgages extended a recent trend of declines.   While noting the continued drops are “noteworthy,” the portion of borrowers who had been current in the prior month but fell behind–or roll rate–remains elevated.   “The persistently high roll rates indicate that the delinquency declines are more a reflection of increased property liquidation and ongoing loan-modification activity than of widespread improvement in home loan payment performance,” said Fitch’s Vincent Barberio.

Home loan delinquencies have shown signs of plateau in recent months, with a number of measures showing their first declines since 2007, when the housing bubble began to lose air.   Delinquencies of 60 days or more on prime-rated jumbo mortgages, or those of at least $417,000, rose to 10.4% in June from 6.4% a year earlier and 10.3% in May. Such loans saw the biggest increase in delinquencies last year among home borrowings, though the overall rate remains far below those of other mortgage types. Roll rates remained above 1% after dipping below that level in April, but were lower than their 1.4% peak in March.

The prime-rated jumbo loans make up the vast majority of the prime-rated mortgage loans in Fitch’s readings.   Serious delinquencies for Alt-A loans–typically given to prime-rated borrowers who did not document assets and/or income, declined to 33.7% in June from 33.9% in May, but were up from 29.1% a year earlier. Roll rates rose on month to 3.4% from 3.1%. Prior to a sharp April drop, roll rates haven’t fallen below 3% since June 2008.   Subprime delinquencies dropped to 43.7% from 44.8% in May but were above the prior year’s 41.2% The June roll rate fell to 4.2% from 4.3% sequentially but was well below the 12-month average of 5.3%.   Article was written by Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires

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