Mixed Data on Mortgage Defaults

First mortgage default rates were on the decline, but second mortgage defaults took an uptick, according to the latest S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices report.

 

The index level for first mortgage defaults dropped from 0.69 percent in April to 0.64 percent in May. However, the level for second mortgage defaults to 0.51 percent in April to 0.53 percent in May. The national composite index level fell from 0.90 percent in April to 0.86 percent in May, and the greatest default rate was experienced by bank cards: up from 3.35 percent in April to 3.53 percent in May.

 

“The default rate on first mortgage remains at one percent, lower than the pre-crisis period,” said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Rising home prices and increases in the equity mortgage borrowers have in their home are helping lower default rates. One factor in the difference between rising bank card defaults and stable defaults on mortgages and autos may be the difference in interest rates: about four percent on mortgages and 4.4 percent on auto loans, compared to 12 percent to 18 percent on bank card loans.”

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