US home loan foreclosures reach record high
Delinquency and foreclosure rates among US homeowners climbed to their highest levels on record in the fourth quarter of last year, as the Obama administration unveiled its latest effort to aid the housing market.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said 15 per cent of all home loans were either in foreclosure or late on a payment, the highest proportion since its surveys began in 1972.
The data were released as President Barack Obama announced $1.5bn (?1.1bn, ?970m) in support for housing finance agencies in the states worst-hit by the housing crisis – Nevada, Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan. All have seen falls of more than 20 per cent in house prices.
The funds, which will come from the $700bn Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp), will be directed into programmes to help people struggling to pay their mortgages, such as the unemployed or those in negative equity.
The package is part of the Obama administration’s efforts to show it is responding to the economic problems of ordinary people as it heads towards mid-term Congressional elections in November.
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Tags: home loans, Loans