- U.S. serious delinquency rate this April was the lowest for any month in nearly 14 years
- No state posted an annual gain in its overall or serious delinquency rate
- Some hurricane and wildfire areas in the Southeast and California continue to log relatively high delinquency rates
CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report. The report shows that nationally 3.6% of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure) in April 2019, representing a 0.7 percentage point decline in the overall delinquency rate compared with April 2018, when it was 4.3%. This was the lowest rate for any month in more than 20 years.
As of April 2019, the foreclosure inventory rate – which measures the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process – was 0.4%, down 0.1 percentage points from April 2018. The April 2019 foreclosure inventory rate tied the prior five months as the lowest for any month since at least January 1999.
Measuring early-stage delinquency rates is important for analyzing the health of the mortgage market. To monitor mortgage performance comprehensively, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency, as well as transition rates, which indicate the percentage of mortgages moving from one stage of delinquency to the next.
The rate for early-stage delinquencies – defined as 30 to 59 days past due – was 1.7% in April 2019, down from 1.8% in April 2018. The share of mortgages 60 to 89 days past due in April 2019 was 0.6%, unchanged from April 2018. The serious delinquency rate – defined as 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure – was 1.3% in April 2019, down from 1.9% in April 2018. April’s serious delinquency rate of 1.3% was the lowest for any month since August 2005 when it was also 1.3%.
Since early-stage delinquencies can be volatile, CoreLogic also analyzes transition rates. The share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due was 0.7% in April 2019, down from 0.8% in April 2018. By comparison, in January 2007, just before the start of the financial crisis, the current-to-30-day transition rate was 1.2%, while it peaked in November 2008 at 2%.
The nation’s overall delinquency rate has fallen on a year-over-year basis for the past 16 consecutive months. In April, Nebraska’s overall delinquency rate was unchanged from a year earlier and all other states posted at least a small annual decline.
“Thanks to a 50-year low in unemployment, rising home prices and responsible underwriting, the U.S. overall delinquency rate is the lowest in more than 20 years,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “However, a number of metros that suffered a natural disaster or economic decline contradict this national trend. For example, in the wake of the 2018 California Camp Fire, the serious delinquency rate in the Chico, California metro area this April was 21% higher than one year ago.”
In April 2019, 10 metropolitan areas logged an increase in the serious delinquency rate. The highest gains continue to plague the hurricane-ravaged parts of the Southeast (in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina), and in Northern California where the Camp Fire devastated communities in 2018.
“The U.S. has experienced 16 consecutive months of falling overall delinquency rates, but it has not been a steady decline across all areas of the country,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Recent flooding in the Midwest could elevate delinquency rates in hard-hit areas, similar to what we see after a hurricane.”
The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on August 13, 2019, featuring data for May 2019.
For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Insights Blog: www.corelogic.com/insights.
Methodology
The data in this report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through April 2019.
The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not typically subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. Approximately one-third of homes nationally are owned outright and do not have a mortgage. CoreLogic has approximately 85% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data.
Source: CoreLogic
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