The fundamentals that drive mortgage credit are the best in two decades, says CoreLogic chief
Serious mortgage delinquency rates hit their lowest level in a decade in September despite the impact of three hurricanes, according to new data from CoreLogic.
On Tuesday, CoreLogic released new data showing that, nationally, 5% of mortgages were in some state of delinquency in September. That’s a 0.2% decline year over year. The rate of serious delinquencies – mortgage payments 90 days or more past due – dropped 0.4 percentage points from September 2016 to 1.9%. That’s the lowest level since October of 2007, according to CoreLogic. It’s also the lowest serious delinquency rate for the month of September since 2007.
The rate for early-stage delinquencies – mortgage payments between 30 and 59 days past due – was 2.4%, up slightly from 2.1% in September of 2016. However, the higher early-stage rate wasn’t because of tighter credit, according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic.
“September’s early-stage delinquency rate increased by 0.3% from a year ago – the largest increase since June 2009,” Nothaft said. “This does not reflect a deterioration in credit, but rather the impact of the hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. September’s early-stage delinquency transition rate rose to 2.6% in Texas, and it rose to 3.2% in Florida, which is higher than the 1% that’s typical for both states. Texas and Florida’s early-stage delinquency transition rates in September are much lower than New Orleans in September 2005, when the transition rate reached 17.4% as a result of Hurricane Katrina.”
“While natural hazard risk was elevated in 2017, the economic fundamentals that drive mortgage credit performance are the best in two decades,” said Frank Martell, CoreLogic president and CEO. “The combination of strong job growth, low unemployment rates, steady economic performance and prudent underwriting has led to continued improvement in mortgage performance heading into next year.”
The foreclosure inventory rate was also down in September, hitting 0.6%. That’s down from 0.8% in September of last year. Both August and September of this year saw the lowest foreclosure inventory rate since June of 2007, according to CoreLogic.
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Commercial loan delinquencies edge lower
Hurricanes continue to impact October delinquencies
On Tuesday, CoreLogic released new data showing that, nationally, 5% of mortgages were in some state of delinquency in September. That’s a 0.2% decline year over year. The rate of serious delinquencies – mortgage payments 90 days or more past due – dropped 0.4 percentage points from September 2016 to 1.9%. That’s the lowest level since October of 2007, according to CoreLogic. It’s also the lowest serious delinquency rate for the month of September since 2007.
The rate for early-stage delinquencies – mortgage payments between 30 and 59 days past due – was 2.4%, up slightly from 2.1% in September of 2016. However, the higher early-stage rate wasn’t because of tighter credit, according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic.
“September’s early-stage delinquency rate increased by 0.3% from a year ago – the largest increase since June 2009,” Nothaft said. “This does not reflect a deterioration in credit, but rather the impact of the hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. September’s early-stage delinquency transition rate rose to 2.6% in Texas, and it rose to 3.2% in Florida, which is higher than the 1% that’s typical for both states. Texas and Florida’s early-stage delinquency transition rates in September are much lower than New Orleans in September 2005, when the transition rate reached 17.4% as a result of Hurricane Katrina.”
“While natural hazard risk was elevated in 2017, the economic fundamentals that drive mortgage credit performance are the best in two decades,” said Frank Martell, CoreLogic president and CEO. “The combination of strong job growth, low unemployment rates, steady economic performance and prudent underwriting has led to continued improvement in mortgage performance heading into next year.”
The foreclosure inventory rate was also down in September, hitting 0.6%. That’s down from 0.8% in September of last year. Both August and September of this year saw the lowest foreclosure inventory rate since June of 2007, according to CoreLogic.
Related stories:
Commercial loan delinquencies edge lower
Hurricanes continue to impact October delinquencies
