US Mortgage Crisis Spreads To Prime Borrowers

At the end of September, nearly 4% of prime mortgages were past due or in foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, The Times reported. That was the highest rate since the group started tracking prime and subprime mortgages separately in 1998.

The delinquency and foreclosure rate for all mortgages, 7.3%, is higher than at any time since the group started tracking that data in 1979, largely as a result of the surge in subprime lending during the last few years. The default rate for prime mortgages is still far lower than for subprime loans, about 24% of which are delinquent or in foreclosure.