Past Due Mortgages = 6,298,000

"There were 6,298,000 mortgages going unpaid in the United States as of the end of October, according to Lender Processing Services (LPS). It's a daunting number, but the data show that it's actually been on a fairly steady decline for nearly two years now. At the start of 2011, the total number of non-current mortgages in the U.S. stood at 6,870,000. In January 2010, it was 8,118,000. LPS' report indicates mortgage delinquencies are declining while the nation's foreclosure inventory is growing."

Wow! Talk about deceptive media spin, you’ve got to be kidding me. On the surface this sounds like a sizable improvement - since the lead is delinquencies are better!?

When a mortgage is ‘past due’ the industry calls it ‘delinquent’ – put a different way, it means the owner of the mortgage is not receiving their expected interest income at the same rate as promised to them.  A way to keep track of potential principal losses on the way when added to income losses right now. So let’s all remember lower delinquency means people are paying more promptly OR (in this case) the pool of REO’s has dramatically increased and they are no longer labeled as 'delinquent.'

So this could just as easily say … “Hey folks! There’s been a steady increase of foreclosures for nearly two years now – in fact, since January 2010 foreclosed homes have increased by some 2 Million!”