One more phrase you won't hear for a while

Not long ago, as recently as late-summer if memory serves, it was all too common for housing market optimists to claim that all the fuss over rising foreclosures was overblown since a full 95 percent of all borrowers continued to make their payments on time.

You don't hear that too much anymore.

From Bad to Worse: One in 10 Mortgages in Trouble
Trade Group Predicts Job Losses Will Mean More Late Payments, Foreclosures

Dec. 5, 2008 — Nearly one in 10 Americans with mortgages is behind on payments or has fallen into foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But the worst may be yet to come: Job losses, the trade group predicts, will exacerbate the situation.

"It is clear that the mortgage market now is being driven by fundamental issues with jobs and the economy," said Jay Brinkmann, the association's chief economist.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans was 6.99 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the third quarter of 2008, while the percentage of loans in foreclosure, 2.97 percent, hit a new record in the period from July to September, according to a report released by the association today.

It might be some time before you hear that phrase again.