The share of homeowners late on their mortgage payments fell sharply in the first quarter of 2007, but the downturn appears based on seasonal factors as default rates remain well above year-ago levels.According to the Inside Mortgage Finance... [Includes two charts]

Mortgage delinquency rates jumped higher in the fourth quarter because of a variety of factors, not the least of which was the economic upheaval caused by severe hurricanes in the Gulf Coast. Large mortgage servicers reported a weighted-average overall delinquency rate of 3.52 percent as of the end of last year, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance quarterly lender survey. That was up 27 basis points from the average 3.25 percent rate reported in the… [One data table included]

Legal experts say the damaging consumer abuse lawsuits that have tainted the subprime mortgage market are increasingly becoming a concern for securities issuers and other secondary market participants as plaintiff attorneys press their manhunt for deep pockets. Speakers at this week’s National Secondary Market Conference, held in Chicago by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, said the growing liability problems are also beginning to