Mortgage Delinquencies Rise for the First Time in a Year

The mortgage delinquency rate increased for the first time in a year as slowing economic growth left more borrowers struggling to pay their bills.

The share of home loans at least 30 days late rose to 7.58 percent in the second quarter from 7.4 percent in the previous three months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report today. It was 8.44 percent a year earlier.

"It's the first time it's really picked up," Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics, said in a telephone interview today from Washington. "It's reflecting weak job growth in the second quarter."

The economy grew at a 1.5 percent annual pace in the second quarter, compared with a 2 percent rate in the previous three months, the Commerce Department reported July 27. The unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent in July from 8.2 percent in June, the Commerce Department said last week.

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