Late payments on mortgages fall again in 1st qtr

As Mish points out, at this rate, delinquencies will be normal in a mere 8 years: ``The number of homeowners making late payments -- or no payments -- on their mortgages fell for the fifth straight quarter in the first three months of 2011. But the figure remains stubbornly high compared with the pre-crisis norm, likely because of the huge backlog of homes waiting to be foreclosed. The rate of borrowers nationwide who were 60 days or more past due on their mortgage payments fell to 6.19 percent for the three months ended March 31, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. That was down from 6.77 percent at the same time last year.''