Foreclosure Data Suggests ‘Continued But Slower Housing Recovery’

The Data and Analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services issued their "First Look" at January mortgage performance data, noting foreclosure inventory has hit a new post-crisis low.

The percentage of foreclosures from the inventory of loans, 2.35 percent, is the lowest since November, 2008.

Loans in serious delinquency, constituted by mortgages 90 or more days past due or in foreclosure, is 4.92 percent, the lowest in over five years.

Black Knight's previously reported Home Price Index increased .1 percent, and the two reports provide information signaling a possible slowdown of the housing recovery.

When asked for comment, Raj Dosaj, VP of Behavioral Models & HPI for Black Knight Financial Services, said, "Based upon the home price and mortgage performance data tracked by Black Knight, we anticipate a continued—but slower—housing recovery. Areas with large inventories of distressed properties will likely lag a bit behind the rest of the country as their pipelines continue to clear."

The report notes that the number of days loans in foreclosure have been past due has risen to 943 days.

The total U.S. loan delinquency rate is currently 6.27 percent. Month-over-month, the January rate has dropped by 2.96 percent. Yearly, the delinquency rate fell by 10.7 percent.

Approximately 3.14 million properties are past due on mortgage payments for 30 days or more, and properties delinquent more than 90 days are approximately 1.2 million properties.