Tag Archives: Delinquency Rate

According to year-end data from Black Knight Financial Services, 6.47 percent of the nation’s mortgages last year were delinquent, down from a peak of 10.57 percent in January 2010. Meanwhile, about 2.48 percent of loans were in some state of foreclosure—a rate about 4.6 times the pre-crisis average.

Fannie Mae’s book of business shrank in December, ending a short streak of growth and marking the eighth month of 2013 in which business slowed.

Delinquencies picked up slightly in December, according to early data released by Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS)--but overall trends indicate 2013 was a year of improvement. As of month-end, BKFS puts the total U.S. loan delinquency rate at 6.47 percent, an increase of 0.26 percent from November. The figure includes loans that are 30 or more days overdue but not in foreclosure. On an annual basis, however, delinquency was down 9.85 percent in 2013.

Following a year of fast-paced appreciation, Fitch Ratings expects home price gains to slow to a more moderate pace in 2014 in the United States, according to its Global Housing and Mortgage Outlook released Tuesday. The ratings agency also predicts mortgage volume will decline and delinquencies and shadow inventory will decrease, albeit slowly, while liquidation timelines continue to rise.

Many economists and market observers have suggested the market is poised for continued growth as the recovery enters its third year, and there are positive elements in play that provide some reasons for optimism. Recent loan vintages continue to perform at levels better than historical norms, which has allowed the industry to work through its backlog of distressed assets; foreclosure activity is declining; and housing starts have begun to rise.

Freddie Mac's mortgage book of business contracted at an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in October, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines. The book has registered declines in seven of the first 10 months of 2013, according to Freddie Mac's monthly volume summary. October's pace of decline was the highest rate so far this year and is up from a 4.3 percent annualized rate reported for September.

At 48,000, completed foreclosures registered a 30 percent annual decline in October, according to CoreLogic. The industry's foreclosure inventory (2.2 percent) and serious delinquency rate (5.1 percent) also fell. While the declines were significant, CoreLogic pointed out in its report that between 2000 and 2006, completed foreclosures averaged about 21,000 per month and the foreclosure inventory rate was 0.6 percent.

A total of 38,908 insurance certificates for borrowers seeking to buy or refinance a home were issued by members of Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA) in October. That number sits lower than most other months of 2013 and is nearly 4,000 less than last October. At the same time, dollar volume on insurance written throughout the month was the lowest since May 2012.

The percentage of homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth has declined to less than 12 percent as of the third quarter of this year, according to Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Mortgage Monitor report. While the increasing number of homeowners rising above water is good news for the market, LPS detects some tumultuous seas ahead as a cloud of problem home equity loans forms on the horizon.

Fannie Mae completed about 13,000 loan modifications in October, bringing the year-to-date total to nearly 134,000. At the same time, the GSE's serious delinquency rate for conventional single-family mortgages declined seven basis points over the month, dropping to 2.48 percent. According to the company's latest monthly volume summary, Fannie Mae's total book of business is currently valued at about $3.17 trillion.