CR Note: It is possible that some of the increase in the delinquency rate in February was due to late tax refunds.
From Black Knight: Black Knight’s First Look: Bucking Historical Seasonal Trend, February Sees Delinquencies Rise; Prepayments Up 11 Percent, Driven by Softening Interest Rates
• Delinquencies rose by 3.7 percent in February, the first February increase in 12 years
• Despite the monthly rise, delinquencies remain more than 9.5 percent below last year’s level
• At 40,400 for the month, foreclosure starts were down 19.5 percent from January and edged close to September 2018’s 15-year low
• The national foreclosure rate improved marginally and is now down more than 21 percent year-over-year
• Prepayment speeds rose by 11 percent from January’s 18-year low, suggesting an increase in refinance activity driven by the recent decline in 30-year interest rates
According to Black Knight’s First Look report for February, the percent of loans delinquent increased 3.7% in February compared to January, and decreased 9.5% year-over-year.
The percent of loans in the foreclosure process decreased 0.4% in February and were down 21.3% over the last year.
Black Knight reported the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) was 3.89% in February, up from 3.75% in January.
The percent of loans in the foreclosure process decreased slightly in February to 0.51% from 0.51% in January.
The number of delinquent properties, but not in foreclosure, is down 179,000 properties year-over-year, and the number of properties in the foreclosure process is down 67,000 properties year-over-year.
| Black Knight: Percent Loans Delinquent and in Foreclosure Process | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2019 |
Jan 2019 |
Feb 2018 |
Feb 2017 |
|
| Delinquent | 3.89% | 3.75% | 4.30% | 4.21% |
| In Foreclosure | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.65% | 0.93% |
| Number of properties: | ||||
| Number of properties that are delinquent, but not in foreclosure: | 2,019,000 | 1,945,000 | 2,198,000 | 2,135,000 |
| Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: | 264,000 | 265,000 | 331,000 | 470,000 |
| Total Properties | 2,284,000 | 2,210,000 | 2,528,000 | 2,605,000 |