Just getting worse...
Of course, the reason people have stopped paying their mortgages is not because they don't have the money, but because bloggers are just so negative. From Reuters:
Countrywide says foreclosure rate at new record
Reuters
Friday, February 15, 2008; 8:46 AMNEW YORK (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Friday foreclosures and late payments rose in January to the highest on record, reflecting the nation's deepening housing and credit crunch.
The foreclosure rate for the 9.02 million mortgages on which Countrywide collects and processes payments roughly doubled to 1.48 percent from 0.77 percent a year earlier, and rose from December's 1.44 percent.
Delinquencies rose to 7.47 percent of unpaid balances from 4.32 percent a year earlier, and 7.20 percent in December. Countrywide services $1.48 trillion of home loans.
Countrywide also said it funded $21.9 billion of home loans in January, down 41 percent from $37.1 billion a year earlier, and 6 percent from December's $23.4 billion.
