Black Knight Inc. [1] has taken a "first look" at delinquencies that continue to steady their improvement, while active foreclosures fell to yet another record low entering the final month of 2021.
The national delinquency rate saw yet another month of steady improvement, with November's 4.1% monthly decline matching the 18-month average rate of reduction. Despite serious delinquencies (loans 90+ days past due but not in foreclosure) falling another 80,000 from October, over 1 million such delinquencies remain, 2.5 times more than at the start of the pandemic.
Both foreclosure starts (3,700) and active foreclosure inventory (132,000) hit new record lows in November as borrowers continue to work through available forbearance and loss mitigation options. More than 800,000 forbearance exits have occurred over the past 60 days, with nearly 560,000 homeowners remaining in post-forbearance loss mitigation.
Given the size of this population, both serious delinquency and foreclosure metrics demand close attention as we enter 2022. Prepayment activity (SMM) fell by 8.9% in November to hit its lowest level in 22 months, as rising 30-year rates continue to put downward pressure on refinance volumes.
Black Knight reported the following "first look" at November 2021 month-end mortgage performance statistics, derived from its loan-level database representing much of the national mortgage market.
- Total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure): 3.59%
Month-over-month change: -4.11%
Year-over-year change: -43.29% - Total U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 0.25%
Month-over-month change: -4.32%
Year-over-year change: -24.16% - Total U.S. foreclosure starts: 3,700
Month-over-month change: -7.5%
Year-over-year change: -15.91% - Monthly prepayment rate (SMM): 1.78%
Month-over-month change: -8.91%
Year-over-year change: -36.83% - Foreclosure sales as % of 90+: 0.26%
Month-over-month change: -3.44%
Year-over-year change: 298.10% - Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 1,906,000
Month-over-month change: -80,000
Year-over-year change: -1,475,000 - Number of properties that are 90 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 1,026,000
Month-over-month change: -80,000
Year-over-year change: -1,167,000 - Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: 132,000
Month-over-month change: -6,000
Year-over-year change: -44,000 - Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure: 2,039,000
Month-over-month change: -86,000
Year-over-year change: -1,518,000
Totals are extrapolated based on Black Knight's loan-level database of mortgage assets. All whole numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand, except foreclosure starts, which are rounded to the nearest hundred.
The top 5 states by non-current* percentage are:
- Louisiana: 7.95%
- Mississippi: 7.30%
- West Virginia: 5.54%
- Oklahoma: 5.44%
- Alabama: 5.38%
The bottom 5 states by non-current* percentages are:
- Utah: 2.38%
- California: 2.32%
- Washington: 2.19%
- Colorado: 2.19%
- Idaho: 2.03%
The top 5 states by 90+ days delinquent percentages are:
- Louisiana: 4.17%
- Mississippi: 3.62%
- Oklahoma: 2.77%
- Maryland: 2.71%
- Arkansas: 2.67%
The top 5 states by 6-month improvement in non-current* percentages are:
- Hawaii: -46.97%
- Nevada: -35.56%
- California: -35.39%
- Massachusetts: -28.78%
- Alaska: -28.53%
The top 5 states by 6-month deterioration in non-current* percentages are:
- Louisiana: -1.52%
- Iowa: -11.57%
- Kentucky: -12.25%
- Ohio: -13.36%
- West Virginia: -13.52%
*Non-current totals combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of active loans in that state.
For a more detailed view of this month's "first look" data, please visit the Black Knight newsroom [2]. Please note that Black Knight does not release an edition of the Mortgage Monitor report over the holidays and will return to its normal publishing schedule the first week of February 2022.