The national unemployment rate remained at 10 percent during December. LPS reports that 1 in every 7.5 fell into foreclosure or delinquency during November. According to Fitch Ratings, 2009 commercial delinquency rates ended at 4.71%.

In The news:

Bloomberg - “Shrinking U.S. Labor Force Keeps Unemployment Rate From Rising” (1-9-09)

“An exodus of discouraged workers from the job market kept the U.S. unemployment rate from climbing above 10 percent in December, economists said.”

Housing Wire – “More than 13% of Mortgages Delinquent or Foreclosed in November: LPS” (1-11-09)

“One in every 7.5 homeowners either fell into delinquency or foreclosure as of November 30, 2009, according to the December mortgage monitor report from Lender Processing Services (LPS), a mortgage data provider. The total amount of delinquencies reached a record high 9.97%, a 5.46% increase from the previous month and a 21.29% increase from November 2008. In a sign that homeowners continue their struggle to meet their monthly mortgage payments, loans falling into more severe delinquent categories reached 5.01% through November, compared to 1.52% of loans improved toward a current status.”

Housing Wire – “$47bn of Interest-Only RMBS Loans to Recast This Year, Fitch Says” (1-11-09)

“More than $47bn of collateral backing prime and Alt-A residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) is scheduled to recast over the next 12 months from an interest-only (IO) payment to a fully amortizing payment, Fitch Ratings said in market commentary Monday.”

Housing Wire – “Financial, Mortgage Hirings Up as Overall Employment Dips” (1-11-09)

“The DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday said the national unemployment rate was 10% in December, unchanged from November. Despite the overall loss, the financial-activities sector gained a net 4,000 jobs in December, the first gain since summer 2007, according to a search of the Bureau of Labor Statistics online database. Jobs increased from November (7,691,000) to 7,695,00 in December.”

Housing Wire – “Q409 Losses on the Way for Banks: Citi” (1-11-09)

“Citigroup (C: 3.63 +1.11%) analysts expect Q409 losses for Morgan Stanley (MS: 32.04 -0.65%), Goldman Sachs (GS: 171.56 -1.58%), Bank of America (BAC: 16.93 +0.89%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 44.53 -0.34%) due to a “substantial” decline in fixed-income, commodities and currencies (FICC) trading, according to a 2010 Outlook report.”

Housing Wire – “CMBS Delinquencies May Double by 2012, Says Fitch” (1-11-09)

“An increase in defaults across property types pushed total commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies 42 bps higher, closing 2009 at 4.71% delinquent, according to credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings. The rate of growth in delinquent CMBS looks set to continue in coming years, with a potential peak at 12% in 2012.”

Housing Wire - “Redefault Rates ‘Tragic’, Says Amherst” (1-11-09)

“According to Amherst Securities Group, default and prepayment rates on non-agency, private-label mortgage-backed securities (MBS) were constant in November. However, re-performance rates, where payments return to less than two months delinquent, were down and re-default rates “tragic” in November, according to market commentary provided by the firm.”

Bloomberg - “Fed’s Bullard Says Asset-Purchase Adjustments Main Policy Issue” (1-11-09)

“Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the main challenge for U.S. policy makers will be to adjust the asset-purchase program so as to continue supporting economic growth without stoking inflation. ”

Looking Back:

One year ago, some Realtors forecasted that condo prices would not bottom in 2009. Congressional budget analysts anticipated a $1.2 trillion deficit for 2009.