Citing the need to closely monitor foreclosure numbers after the Federal Foreclosure Moratorium expired in July, Black Knight [1] has revealed a “first-look [2]” at its data for October 2021.
According to the preliminary release, the national delinquency rate fell another 4.5% to 3.74% in October. This is the second consecutive month delinquency rates have been below 4% in the last 18 months.
The month only saw 4,000 foreclosure starts, a 2.56% increase from September. These foreclosure starts seen in October are more than 90% below 2019 levels and, and despite a rise of 3,000 for the month, active foreclosure inventory remains near an all-time low
In addition, the report found that there was a decline of 82,000 in the number of loans 30 or more days past due. This brought the total number of such loans below 2 million for the first time since the run-up early on in the pandemic.
[3]
Serious delinquencies, defined as a mortgage more than 90 days past due, also declined by 127,000 as the first wave of forbearance entrants reached the end of their terms and returned to making payments.
“With the majority of plan exits in recent weeks still working through loss mitigation options with their servicers, further improvement in serious delinquency rates is expected in coming months,” the report said.
Despite these numbers, there are 700,000 more seriously delinquent mortgages on file than before the pandemic began.
The data included in this report is preliminary. The Black Knight Mortgage Monitor Report, which includes an analysis of the data and graphics, will be released with final data on December 6.