Mortgage Delinquency Rate Hits New Record Low

The national delinquency rate reached 3.36 percent in May, according to new data from Black Knight Inc. This represents the third consecutive month that the delinquency rate has declined and it is also lowest level reached since Black Knight began publishing this data in January 2000

 

Black Knight also reported foreclosure starts fell from April to May to 39,000, the fewest of any month in more than 18 years. Simultaneously, prepayment activity increased by 24 percent in May, reaching its highest level in more than two years. Early-stage and serious delinquencies and active foreclosures also declined from April to May, bringing total non-current inventory to its lowest point since early 2005.

 

A great deal of credit for these numbers can be attributed to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 38,968 foreclosure prevention actions in the first quarter. Thirty-eight percent of loan modifications completed by the GSEs during the first quarter reduced borrowers' monthly payments by more than 20 percent, and the GSEs' serious delinquency rate dropped to 0.71 percent at the end of the first quarter. Since the GSEs went into federal conservatorship in September 2018, they have brought about 4.32 million foreclosure prevention actions.

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