MBA: Q4 Mortgage Delinquencies at 18-Year Low

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one- to four-unit residential properties declined to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.06 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). This marked a 41-basis-point drop from the third quarter and a 111-basis-point plummet from one year ago.

 

During the fourth quarter, the percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started inched up by two basis points to 0.25 percent. The 30-day delinquency rate fell by 22 basis points to 2.29 percent, the 60-day delinquency rate slid by three basis points to 0.74 percent, and the 90-day delinquency bucket tumbled 15 basis points to 1.03 percent. The MBA noted that the five states most impacted by last September’s storms saw their overall mortgage delinquency rates drop in the fourth quarter after rising in the third quarter: Mississippi (41 basis points), South Carolina (33 basis points), North Carolina (28 basis points), Alabama (28 basis points) and Arkansas (17 basis points).

 

“The overall national mortgage delinquency rate in the fourth quarter was at its lowest level since the first quarter of 2000,” said Marina Walsh, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “What’s even more noteworthy, the delinquency rate dropped from the previous quarter and on a year-over-year basis across all loan types and stages of delinquency."

---