First-Lien Delinquencies See Greatest Monthly Upswing Since 2008

May 24, 2017

First-lien mortgage delinquencies saw a 12.93 percent spike from March to April, the largest monthly increase since November 2008, according to new data from Black Knight Financial Services. The total U.S. loan delinquency rate measured 4.08 percent last month. On a year-over-year measurement, this delinquency rate fell by 3.58 percent.

From March to April, the number of borrowers who were past due on mortgage payments increased by 241,000. However, Black Knight pointed out that April’s delinquency rate increase was “primarily calendar-driven (due to both the month ending on a Sunday and March being the typical calendar-year low) and largely isolated to early-stage delinquencies.”

Also in April, there were 52,800 monthly foreclosure starts, down 12.44 percent from March and down 10.05 percent from a year earlier; April’s rate was the lowest level since January 2005. Prepayment speeds fell by nearly 11 percent from March and plummeted by 31 percent from April 2016.

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Phil Hall

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May 24, 2017

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