According to mortgage delinquency data compiled by Black Knight, Inc. [1], in November 2017, 90-day delinquent loan inventory saw the largest month-over-month increase in nine years due to the impacts of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
November increases in severely delinquent mortgage inventory have been observed in nine out of the past 10 years, according to Black Knight, but the spike in 90-day delinquencies definitely stands out. Ninety-day delinquent mortgage inventory jumped 13 percent in November 2017, the largest monthly increase in nearly a decade. Over 85 percent of these new delinquencies are related to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, according to Black Knight. That amounts to a total of 66,000 hurricane-related severe delinquencies, out of a total 77,000 for the month.
The overall national delinquency rate increased by 2.5 percent in November 2017.
November’s additions bring the total delinquencies spurred by Harvey and Irma to over 85,000. Delinquencies resulting from Irma spiked during November, increasing by 8,200 month-over-month. On the other hand, Harvey-related delinquencies dropped month-over-month by nearly the same amount, for a total monthly decrease of 8,400.
With a total of 48,700 for the month, November’s U.S. foreclosure starts were down 4.78 percent month-over-month, and down 20.86 percent year-over-year. According the Black Knight, November’s foreclosure starts were the second fewest monthly starts for 2017 and the third lowest number since 2004. At 337,000, November 2017 gad the lowest number of active foreclosures since October 2006.
The national number of homes that are 30 or more days past due, but not yet in foreclosure, totaled 2,324,000 for November 2017, an increase of 62,000 since October 2017. The number of properties 90 or more days past due, but not yet in foreclosure, totaled 666,000. That’s actually down by 16,000 year-over-year.
Editor's Note: The first report of this story incorrectly cited the largest total number of foreclosures in nine years, this story has been corrected to show that Black Knight found the largest month-over-month increase in 90-day delinquencies in nine years.