Serious Delinquency and Foreclosure Rates at 12-Year Lows

Dec 11, 2018

The mortgage delinquency rate rose by 3.7 percent in February from January, marking the first increase seen in the month in 12 years, according to new data from Black Knight

During September, 4.4 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency, according to new data from CoreLogic. This represents a 0.6 percent drop from one year earlier.

The foreclosure inventory rate in September was 0.5 percent, down 0.1 percent from the previous year. September’s rate tied with the April, May, June, July and August rates from this year as the lowest since September 2006, when it was also 0.5 percent.

Also during September, the rate for early-stage delinquencies was 2.2 percent, compared to 2.4 percent in September 2017, while the 0.7 percent share of mortgages that were 60 to 89 days past due was unchanged from one year earlier. The serious delinquency rate was 1.5 percent, down from 1.9 percent in September 2017—and it was also the lowest level for the serious delinquency rate since it was also 1.5 percent in March 2007.

“Outside of areas affected by natural disasters, serious delinquency and foreclosure rates have declined steadily across the nation as the labor market has improved and home prices have risen,” said Frank Martell, President and Chief Executive Officer of CoreLogic. “However, we have also seen a rise in high loan-to-value and high debt-to-income lending in our CoreLogic TrueStandings data, heightening the risk of a significant upturn in loan default if the economy slips into recession or home prices decline.”

About the author

Phil Hall

Link copied

Published

Dec 11, 2018

Analysis and Data

Late Pays Rising for Student, Auto Loans

More of those with strong credit records have gone delinquent

Delinquencies are building across two major food groups — student loans and automobile financing — the feed credit scores and are sure to impact the ability of would-be home buyers to obtain a mortgage. The Education Department hasn’t updated its official student loan rep...

Analysis and Data

Buyers Faced Bigger Down Payments in 2024

Buyers paid an average of 14.4% of the purchase price, up from 14.2% in 2023

Down payments reached record highs in 2024, both in dollar amounts and as a share of purchase price, according to a new report from Realtor.com. The typical down payment in Q4 was $30,250, slightly below Q3 but about $3,000 higher than a year earlier. "As inventory recove...