The mortgage delinquency rate continued to drop in April, falling to the lowest level in more than 20 years, according to CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insight Report.
What’s more, the serious delinquency rate was at its lowest level in more than 14 years.
As of the end of April, the overall delinquency rate (loans 30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure) was 3.6%, down 0.7 percentage points compared with April 2018, when it was 4.3%.
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 was 0.6%, unchanged compared with April 2018.
The serious delinquency rate – defined as 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure – was 1.3%, down from 1.9% a year earlier.
“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,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic, in a statement. “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 percent higher than one year ago.”
In April, 10 metropolitan areas logged an increase in the serious delinquency rate, CoreLogic’s data shows.
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,” says 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.”
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