Home foreclosures soared to an all-time high in the final three months of 2007 and probably will be increasing as an evidence of homeowners' suffering brought about by the mortgage meltdown.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday that 381,000 households or .83 percent went into foreclosure from period October through December which broke the record set during the previous quarter of July to September which is 0.78 percent.

At the same time, more homeowners fell behind on their monthly payments.

Over 900,000 households are in the foreclosure process, up 71% from a year ago, according to a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. That figure represents 2.04% of all mortgages, the highest rate in the report's quarterly, 36-year history.

Additionally, the delinquency rate or the number of mortgage borrowers who were over 30 days late on a payment in the last three months of 2007 is at its highest rate since 1985. It climbed to 5.82 percent from 5.59 percent in the third quarter last year.

"Declining prices are clearly the driving factor behind foreclosures, but the reasons and magnitude of the declines differ from state to state," said Doug Duncan, MBA's Chief Economist.

Also as prices plummet, as seen in California and Florida areas with price drops of 25% or more defaults will be seen.

The hardest blow was taken by homeowners with tarnished credit who have subprime adjustable-rate loans. Foreclosures and late payments for these borrowers increased to all-time highs, too, in the fourth quarter.

The portion of subprime adjustable-rate mortgages that entered the foreclosure process set a record, 5.29 percent from a previous high, 4.72 percent, came only the previous quarter.

Late payments jumped to a record, 20.02 percent, compared with the mark of 18.81 percent from July through September.

Already there are fears the country is teetering on the edge of a recession, if not in one now.

The wave of foreclosures threatens to depress the housing market even more. The homes people are forced from add to the glut of unsold ones on the market. That means greater cutbacks in home construction which will negatively affect the construction industry and the economy.