Early-Stage Mortgage Delinquencies Drop

Residential property delinquencies showed signs of despite the lingering impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, according to new data from CoreLogic.

 

During November, CoreLogic determined that 5.1 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency, down by a scant 0.1 percent from one year earlier. As of November, the foreclosure inventory rate was 0.6 percent, down 0.2 percent from one year earlier. This past November's foreclosure inventory rate was the lowest for the month since the 0.6 percent level in November 2006.

 

The rate for early-stage delinquencies—defined as 30-59 days past due—was 2.2 percent in November, down 0.1 percentage points from 2.3 percent in October and unchanged from 2.2 percent in November 2016. The share of mortgages that were 60-89 days past due in November was 0.9 percent, unchanged from the previous month and up 0.7 percent from the previous year. The serious delinquency rate was 2 percent in November, up slightly from 1.9 percent in October and down from 2.3 percent in November 2016. The serious delinquency rate had held steady for five consecutive months in 2017 at 1.9 percent and was the lowest level for any month since October 2007 when it was also 1.9 percent.

 

“The effects of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria appear clearly in our mortgage delinquency report,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Serious delinquency rates are up sharply in Texas and Florida compared with a year ago, while lower in all other states except Alaska. In Puerto Rico, the serious delinquency rate jumped to 6.3 percent in November, up 2.7 percentage points compared with a year before. In the Miami metropolitan area, serious delinquency was up more than one-third from one year earlier to 5.1 percent, and it more than doubled to 4.6 percent in the Houston area.”

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