Mortgage Delinquencies Hit 6% Mark in February

After eight consecutive months of improvement, Black Knight has found that the national mortgage delinquency rate rose slightly in February from 5.85% to 6.0%. As Black Knight noted, the rise in delinquency rate was largely calendar-related, as February is both a short month and ended on a Sunday—cutting the days on which payments can be processed.

Month-over-month, the delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) rose 2.61%, with a year-over-year change of 83.03%. Total foreclosure starts nationwide came in at 3,900 U.S. homes, down 33.90% from January 2021’s totals, and down 87.93% year-over-year from last February.

Regionally, the top five states in terms of delinquencies included:

• Mississippi: 10.79%
• Louisiana: 10.29%
• Hawaii: 8.87%
• Oklahoma: 8.35%
• Maryland: 8.01%

Meanwhile, the five states in terms of lowest delinquencies included:

• Oregon: 4.16%
• Utah: 4.05%
• Washington: 3.85%
• Colorado: 3.83%
• Idaho: 3.29%

The number of properties that were 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure in February stood at 3,186,000, a month-over-month rise of approximately 56,000 from January, and a year-over-year spike of 1,449,000.

Both foreclosure starts and active foreclosure inventory again hit new record lows, as recently extended foreclosure moratoriums continue to suppress activity. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) extended several measures that the agency says will align COVID-19 mortgage relief policies across the federal government. The measures taken by the FHFA seek to keep more Americans in their homes, extending temporary measures (previously set to expire March 31) until the end of June.

And while delinquencies are trending slightly upward, forbearance activity dropped below 2.6 million for the first time since last April, according to Black Knight's McDash Flash Forbearance Tracker.

Nationwide, the number of properties that were 90 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure dropped to 2,075,000, down month-over-month by 15,000 from January, but up year-over-year from last February’s total of 1,666,000.

Click here for more information on Black Knight’s February 2021 mortgage delinquency data.