Mortgage delinquencies decline

By Les Christie@CNNMoney

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The mortgage meltdown that began five years ago appears to be reversing course as the percentage of loans that fell into delinquency slowly returned to normal rates and fewer loans fell into foreclosure.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, 7.58% of mortgage borrowers were late on their loan payments during the last three months of 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That was down 0.67 percentage points from 12 months earlier and 2.5 percentage points from the peak set in the first quarter of 2010.

"That's a pretty substantial decline," said Mike Fratantoni, the MBA's Vice President for Single-Family Research and Policy. "We're about halfway back from the peak."
The improved mortgage performance reflected continued improvements on the jobs front and in the broader economy, according to Jay Brinkmann, chief economist at the MBA.