In today’s real estate market, it is easy to get confused. There seems to be an overabundance of information and much of it seems to be conflicting. As an example, we offer you two headlines that appeared within 24 hours of each other last week.
National Delinquency Rate Falls to Lowest Level in Three Years
- Mortgage Bankers Assoc. 11/17/2011
Second Consecutive Increase in First Mortgage Default Rates
- Standard & Poors 11/18/2011
(Remember, foreclosures impact home values and the cost of mortgage money. This makes current delinquency rates an extremely important data point.)
Though these headlines seem to be saying opposite things, both are actually correct. Each report was looking at different data points over different periods of time.
In their article regarding the MBA report, DSNews explains:
“Industry data released Thursday indicates the number of borrowers in the United States behind on their mortgage payments is showing signs of improving. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that the national delinquency rate for residential home loans fell to 7.99 percent in the third quarter.”
In their post, S&P claims:
“First mortgage default rates rose from 1.99% in September to 2.08% in October.”
Bottom Line
Make sure you are dealing with local real estate and mortgage professionals. They will help you and your family decipher the hordes of information available so you can truly understand your best options.