The percentage of mortgages in arrears in the category of loans one rung above subprime, so-called alternative-A mortgages, quadrupled to 12 percent in April from a year earlier. Delinquencies among prime loans, which account for most of the $12 trillion market, doubled to 2.7 percent in that time.
Let's think about those figures for a minute. Alt-A loan arrears increased 4 times in a year. That's a huge pop. It indicates there are serious problems in that market from a variety of perspectives. For example, loose underwriting standards are combining with a weak job market, lagging wages and a lot of homes underwater to hit this are of the market hard.
But we're also seeing an increase in prime defaults -- which doubled over the year. There are people who have goo jobs and (probably) solid incomes. And they're having a problem getting their loans paid-off in increasing numbers.
This isn't over by a long-shot.
