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That's partly due to lenders tightening the criteria needed to qualify for a loan, including larger down payments. And even with mortgage rates hovering near all-time lows, borrowers are typically getting fixed-rate, 30-year mortgages these days. "That's had the effect that those borrowers are able to make their payments," Martin said. That's kept the mortgage delinquency rate from creeping higher. Still, the trove of pre-2009 loans that are behind two months or more remain a considerable drag. Even at a 4-year low, the mortgage delinquency rate is still well above the 1 percent to 2 percent average historical range, an indication that many homeowners still are struggling to make their payments. Before the housing bust, mortgage delinquencies were running at less than 2 percent nationally. TransUnion anticipates the national mortgage delinquency rate will continue declining through the end of March, though it expects the rate to remain above 5 percent. At the state level, Florida led the nation in the fourth quarter with the highest mortgage delinquency rate of any state at 12.47 percent. It was followed by Nevada at 10.45 percent; New Jersey at 7.72 percent; and, Maryland at 6.88 percent. The states with the lowest delinquency rate were North Dakota at 1.53 percent; South Dakota at 1.97 percent; Nebraska at 2.20 percent; and, Alaska at 2.20 percent.
[Associated
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