Mortgage delinquency rates among U.S. homeowners have fallen to their lowest levels in a few years, according to a report Thursday from the nation's mortgage bankers.

The quarterly National Delinquency Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that the rate of mortgage borrowers at least one payment past due or whose homes have been repossessed by their banks declined 0.22 point to 13.56% at the end of December, their lowest level since late 2008.Loans one payment past due were at 8.22%, down considerably from the 9.13% mark at the end of the third quarter and the lowest rate since the end of 2007, the beginning of the recession, the bankers said.That, according to Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the MBA, was very welcome news."I think we've turned the corner as concerned with loans 30 days late," he said. [Read the full article]

Enter your e-mail address below and we will send you an e-mail with a link and code to reset your password.CNNMoney will use the information you submit in a manner consistent with our Privacy Policy. By clicking on "sign up" you agree with CNNMoney's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and consent to the collection, storage and use of this information in the U.S. subject to U.S. laws and regulations. (learn more)For our international users, please be aware that the information you submit when registering for our services is collected in the United States of America. In addition to being subject to our Privacy Policy, the collection, storage, and use of your data will be subject to U.S. laws and regulations, which may be different from the laws and regulations of your home country. By registering for this service, you are consenting to this collection, storage, and use.Please check your e-mail and click the link to confirm your membership. [Read the full article]

But new data from Florida suggest that this may be the year when buyers and sellers come together. "We've outperformed January 2010 by 85%," says Judy Green, chief executive officer of Premier Sotheby's International Realty in Naples. "It's almost as if someone just turned on a faucet and the people are out there. They're making deals."Before leaping in, though, you need to ask yourself two questions: Why is this happening now? And how can I take advantage of it?The "why" is a function of both the market and of sentiment about Florida. Interest rates remain historically low -- the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in Florida was recently 4.9%, according to Bankrate.com -- and banks are lending again, if cautiously. Now that rental prices in the coastal areas are rising, people who have dreamed about owning a second home in (or relocating to) the state see this as their moment to act -- while sale prices remain off their highs. [Read the full article]

Mortgage-backed securities are back, but Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch are approaching their job rating them with very different tactics.The big three credit rating agencies are in trouble for not taking taking risk seriously enough when they examined bonds made from residential mortgages before the housing market crashed. They've been roundly criticized for their overly generous assumptions about housing market hazards (Prices go down? No way!), and for the abysmal way that AAA-rated, mortgage-backed bonds performed during the financial meltdown.Now it looks like those same agencies are arguing to see who can be the toughest on those very same securities.Redwood Trust (RWT) is getting ready to bring to market a $290.4 million residential mortgage-backed security. It's called Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2011-1, and among other things it features a top AAA rating from Fitch. [Read the full article]