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An already positive trend in mortgage defaults continued through the month of June, according to data released Tuesday in the ""S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices"":http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices/sp-experian-consumer-credit-default-indices/en/us/?indexId=sp-experian-consumer-credit-default-indices.
[IMAGE]The data shows that most loan types-including bank card and first and second mortgage loans-saw a decrease in default rates, many of them for the sixth consecutive month. Four loan types posted their lowest rates since the end of the recent recession.
The national composite fell in June to 1.52 percent from 1.62 percent in May. The first mortgage default rate decreased to 1.41 percent (from 1.50 percent in May and 2.02 percent in June 2011), a level last seen in May 2007. The second mortgage default rate dropped to an eight-year historic low of 0.73 percent in June (down from 0.88 percent in May and 1.40 percent a year ago).
""June 2012 data continued a positive trend in consumer credit quality,"" said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices. ""Consumer default rates are falling, and we are approaching new lows across most loan types. In the last recession, most default rates peaked in the spring of 2009; since then the decline has been bumpy but consistent.""
Of the five metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) covered in the data, Dallas posted the lowest rate, falling down from 0.94 percent in May to 0.87 percent in June. Los Angeles followed with nearly double Dallas' rate (1.60 percent in June, down from 1.82 percent in May). New York was the only MSA to post a default rate increase in June (up to 1.64 percent from 1.61 percent in May).
Blitzer said the data is evidence of better household financial conditions across the country.
""There is only positive news in June's numbers,"" he said. ""In the past three years, households have come a long way in repairing their balance sheets.""
