Americans may be finally catching up on their late mortgage payments — or at least may not be falling behind quite so fast.
The number of homeowners who have missed a payment but are not yet in foreclosure dropped last month for the first time since 2007.
More than 15% of home owners have either missed a payment or are in foreclosure, however, a number still flirting with record levels.
A lot of the leveling off is coming in Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Just yesterday, the president announced $1.5 billion in new rescue funds for these states plus California and Michigan.
That does little, however, for struggling homeowners in Lawrence, Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire, where bankruptcy filings will likely remain a prime means of staving off the loss of one’s home.
By Doug Beaton