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Serious Delinquencies Still Elevated in Hurricane-Impacted Markets

The effects of last year’s major natural disasters, including hurricanes and wildfires, have been evident in the housing market in recent months. Disaster-related early mortgage delinquencies have progressed into serious delinquencies in affected markets, according to CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights report, released Tuesday.

Areas that experienced significant damage from recent natural disasters are experiencing a leveling off in early-stage delinquencies and an uptick in serious delinquencies, CoreLogic reported.

“In hard-hit markets, like the Houston and Naples metro areas, serious delinquency is triple what it was before the hurricanes,” said Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist at CoreLogic, adding that in the San Juan, Puerto Rico, area, the rate has quadrupled.

Nationally, the percentage of homes that are newly delinquent (30 to 59 days past due) fell 0.1 percentage points over the year in January. The rate was down 0.2 percentage points since December.

Overall, 2 percent of homes were in the early stages of delinquency in January, according to CoreLogic.

“Measuring early-stage delinquency rates is important for analyzing the health of the mortgage market,” CoreLogic’s report states.

The percent of mortgages 60-89 days past due was 0.8 percent in January, up from 0.7 percent a year ago and matching the rate reported in December.

Despite the elevated rates of serious delinquencies in some markets, the national rate declined over the year in January, falling from 2.3 percent to 2.1 percent, and remaining unchanged from a month earlier.

The foreclosure inventory rate for January was 0.6 percent, down from 0.8 percent a year earlier. The rate has remained the same since August and is the lowest experienced since June 2007.

The share of all mortgage loans in some stage of delinquency or foreclosure was 4.9 percent in January, down from 5.1 percent reported a year ago.

All but two states experienced declines in delinquencies year-over-year in January.

In Texas, early-stage delinquencies rose from 5.6 percent to 6.3 percent over the year in January, while 90+ day delinquencies rose from 1.9 percent to 2.7 percent. Foreclosures, however, dropped 0.2 percentage points down to 0.3 percent.

Florida, the only other state to experience rising delinquencies, demonstrated a more significant rise in delinquencies with early-stage delinquencies rising from 6.0 percent to 8.4 percent and serious delinquencies increasing from 3.2 percent to 5.1 percent over the year. As in Texas, though, the foreclosure rate in Florida declined, falling from 1.3 percent to 0.9 percent.

“Except for the metropolitan areas affected by natural disasters, most of the country has seen delinquency and foreclosure rates move lower over the past year,” said Frank Martell, President and CEO of CoreLogic. “Declines in the unemployment rate have supported a rise in income, and home-price growth has built home equity. These two economic forces, coupled with high-quality underwriting have lowered the overall delinquency rates.”

About Author: Krista Franks Brock

Krista Franks Brock is a professional writer and editor who has covered the mortgage banking and default servicing sectors since 2011. Previously, she served as managing editor of DS News and Southern Distinction, a regional lifestyle publication. Her work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including Consumers Digest, Dallas Style and Design, DS News and DSNews.com, MReport and theMReport.com. She holds degrees in journalism and art from the University of Georgia.
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