Delinquency and foreclosures up in SC

A bankers association says the latest data shows nearly one in 10 South Carolina homeowners were late on their mortgage payments or in foreclosure.
   
The Mortgage Bankers Association says 7.4 percent of homeowners here were at least 30 days past due and 2 percent were in foreclosure in the third quarter. The combined 9.4 percent is up more than 1 percentage point from the same time last year.
   
The association reports South Carolina is just under the national average of 10 percent.
   
Its chief economist, Jay Brinkmann, predicts foreclosure rates will continue to rise next year.
   
The State newspaper of Columbia reports Saturday that South Carolina’s unemployment rate also suggests the problem will only get worse here. In October, the state hit a 25-year high jobless rate of 8 percent.