News December's Latest News 5. Late Mortgage Payments and Foreclosures Rise (Source: NY Times) The number of people paying their mortgages late — or not paying them at all — increased in recent months, led by a rise in homeowners with troubled credit histories. The Mortgage Bankers Association said today that a survey of more than 42 million mortgages found that the rate of delinquencies and foreclosures rose to 4.7% from July through September, up from 4.4% in the second quarter. Among borrowers who are considered subprime because of their questionable credit, however, the delinquency rates were much higher. Subprime borrowers who had past-due payments or whose home was foreclosed rose to 12.6% in the third quarter, from 11.7% in the second quarter. Subprime loans, which tend to run roughly three percentage points or more above the rates available to people with strong credit, have become the fastest-growing segment of the mortgage industry.