$750B in Mortgage Debt Past Due.

Byline: Paul Muolo and Amilda Dymi

Washington-The national mortgage delinquency rate - which includes both prime and subprime mortgages - climbed to a record 7.88% in the fourth quarter with subprime late payments reaching a staggering 21.88%, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Figures compiled by Mortgage Servicing News show that Americans owe $9.6 trillion on their loans, which means $756 billion in residential mortgage debt is delinquent. Also, $196 billion in subprime debt is 30 days or more late.

Prime foreclosures started in the quarter increased to 1.88% of outstanding loans, double last year's rate. The only positive in the numbers: the rate at which homes are going into foreclosure was flat but as MBA chief economist Jay Brinkmann noted, "This is mainly attributable to various state and local moratoria on foreclosure sales" and similar actions taken by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

But even though the rate of foreclosures may be flat the foreclosure inventory numbers are huge, 6.3% of all loans and 23.11% of subprime mortgages are seriously delinquent or in foreclosure. The South and Midwest have the highest delinquency rates, 9.4% and 8.58%, respectively.

To the surprise of no one, subprime ARMs continue to be a major problem for the industry. At year-end, only 52% of all subprime ARMs nationwide were current.

But other loan types are going delinquent in record numbers as well. "When we look at where the changes are coming, clearly we see ...