Surprise, Surprise Countrywide Foreclosures, Deliquencies Up

Countrywide reported increased foreclosures and delinquencies. Raise your hand if you heard this one before. Of course, no one is surprised as RealtyTrac reports that overall foreclosures were up 75% in 2007. I’m sure the NAR and others are saying somewhere that this blog and others “attitudes” are driving the rising foreclosures.

From Market Watch on Countrywide’s increasing foreclosure and delinquency problem:

Then nation’s largest mortgage lender said foreclosures for the month rose to 1.48% from 1.44% a month earlier. Delinquencies, too, continued to climb, up to 7.47% from 7.27% in December 2007.

The up-tick of delinquencies and foreclosures was a visible sign of larger problems borrowers are facing nationwide. Industry research firm RealtyTrac said Jan. 30 that foreclosure filings were up 75% in 2007.

Analysts were not surprised to see the increases, pointing to past lending practices popularized by the lending industry during the height of the housing boom as an underlying problem that will continue to play out in 2008.

“It is certainly not a big surprise that we are seeing more [delinquencies], as many of these loans came about because of poor underwriting practices,” Gary Gordon, an analyst for Portales Partners who has been following Countrywide for almost two decades.

Yawn.