Good and bad news on mortgages in Mississippi

In pursuit of refinancing to lower my fixed-rate interest, I recently talked with several lenders, both banks and credit unions, ranging from Virginia to North Carolina to Mississippi. All of them say that they're still making loans, pointing out that they didn't make bad mortgage deals. All of them were happy to discuss doing business with me. Sadly, it looks as if I'll have to wait a while longer, since I haven't paid off enough of the house to lower my rates by anything more than a trivial amount—unless I switch to an adjustable-rate mortgage. Fat chance of that!

On the other hand, the Hattiesburg American reported Sunday that the apparent end of the subprime market is starting to affect Mississippi. We now lead the nation in delinquent mortgages, although the bankers say some of that is due to fallout from hurricane Katrina. Here's a fun quote:

The foreclosure rate for subprime ARM loans in the state is 11.23 percent while prime ARM loans in foreclosure are at 4.26 percent, according to the MBA. The MBA also found that 29 percent of Mississippi borrowers are nonprime, or borrow with FHA or subprime loans, compared to 19 percent nationwide.