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Fewer Serious Delinquencies Indicate Market Stability

delinquent-notice

With the housing market crash of 2008 more than seven years in the rear view mirror, default-related housing metrics have been considerably declining for a sustained period of time.

One notable declining statistic that is a testament to returning stability in the housing market is that of residential mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent, or 60-plus days overdue. That number dropped from 1.97 million in November 2014 down to 1.65 million in November 2015, a decrease of 16 percent, according to data released by HOPE NOW [1].

“Another key indicator of positive market stability is the decline in serious delinquency,” HOPE NOW Executive Director Eric Selk said. “HOPE NOW tracks those homeowners who are 60-plus days delinquent and we have reported a steady total of about 1.65 million borrowers for the past 5 months. This is a far cry from the nearly 2 million borrowers who were seriously delinquent just 18 months ago. This is a true testament to the hard work of the HOPE NOW Alliance and others, as well as the recent jobs report and economic recovery.”

Black Knight Financial Services reported a similar decline in serious delinquencies in its December 2015 Mortgage Monitor [2] released earlier this week. According to Black Knight, the number of residential mortgage loans that were 90-plus days past due but not in foreclosure totaled 808,000 at the end of December 2015, a decline of nearly 26 percent year-over-year from the nearly 1.09 million reported at the end of the year in 2014. The number of mortgages that were 30 days or more past due but not in foreclosure was 2.40 million in December 2015, an over-the-year decline of 15 percent (about 425,000 properties). According to Black Knight, it was the best calendar year performance for delinquencies since 2010.

2-3 HOPE NOW graph

Despite the widespread overall drop in delinquencies, there are still isolated areas that need assistance, according to HOPE NOW. The alliance plans to continue its borrower outreach efforts with the same type of loss mitigation events which have been so successful for the last several years and particularly in 2015. The first one of the year will be in Tampa on February 10, at the CareerSource Tampa offices.

“Several of the leading mortgage servicers and HUD approved non-profit counseling agencies will be on-site and provide free assistance to those homeowners in need,” Selk said. “HOPE NOW will be focused heavily on Florida this year as we work to help families in hard hit states.”

Click here [2] to view the Black Knight December 2015 Mortgage Monitor.

Click here [1] to view HOPE NOW’s November 2015 Mortgage Data.

2-3 BK Graph

Black Knight December 2015 Mortgage Data