March 2024 Mortgage Update: Serious Delinquencies Drop to Lowest Since Mid-2006

According to the latest report from Intercontinental Exchange, the U.S. mortgage market showed promising signs of stability in March 2024. The national delinquency rate decreased to 3.20%, marking a modest drop from February but remaining slightly higher than the record low observed in March 2023. Notably, serious delinquencies, which track loans 90+ days past due but not in active foreclosure, decreased significantly. These serious delinquencies fell by 24,000 cases—a 5.2% reduction from February, reaching their lowest level since mid-2006. This improvement is particularly significant as it occurred during a month that historically sees fluctuations due to its conclusion on a Sunday, a pattern observed only thrice in the last two decades.

In addition to a decrease in serious delinquencies, March saw a downturn in the number of loans in active foreclosure, dropping to 205,000—the fewest since January 2022 and 28% below pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, prepayment activity, often a sign of a healthy housing market, reached its highest point in seven months, encouraged by lower interest rates and the onset of the spring homebuying season. The attached chart below this article provides a visual depiction of these positive trends in delinquency and foreclosure data.


March 2024 – Mortgage Performance

March 2024 - Mortgage Performance 

Beware of Unjust Fees: Insights from the Latest CFPB Mortgage Report

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Spring 2024 report on mortgage servicing reveals critical issues that prospective and current homeowners should be aware of. The report highlights a troubling trend of unauthorized charges and deceptive practices in mortgage servicing, which could impact a homeowner’s financial stability and property rights. For instance, some services were found to be charging illegal property inspection fees, particularly on Fannie Mae loans, despite guidelines clearly prohibiting such fees when certain conditions are met. These unjust fees, ranging from $10 to $50, were imposed even when borrowers were actively engaging with their servicers, highlighting a significant breach of trust and a potential drain on homeowner resources .

Moreover, the report exposes servicers for levying unauthorized late fees, violating both consumer trust and regulatory requirements. These overcharges, which occurred due to flawed administrative processes or oversight, are especially egregious as they can unfairly increase the financial burden on homeowners. The CFPB’s commitment to scrutinizing such practices is a reminder of the need for vigilance among consumers. The report’s findings underscore the importance of homeowners staying informed and proactive in managing their mortgage accounts to avoid falling victim to these predatory practices. For a deeper understanding and additional details, consider reviewing the complete report below .


CFPB Supervisory Highlights – Mortgage Servicing Edition – Spring 2024

(click below to access complete report)

CFPB Supervisory Highlights - Mortgage Servicing Edition - Spring 2024

COVID-19 Pandemic Driven Serious Mortgage Delinquencies To Highest Levels Since The Great Recession

According to a report just released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), titled “Housing insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic“, there are over 2 million homeowners that have fallen behind at least three months on their mortgage payments.  This represents a 250% increase from pre-Covid-19 levels and is now at a level we haven’t seen since the height of the Great Recession in 2010.

Homeowners with an FHA mortgage delinquency rates double rate for all loans:

As the chart below shows, homeowners with an FHA mortgage hit a serious mortgage delinquency rate of 10.8% during the 3rd quarter of 2020, with the rate for all mortgages was just under half that at 5.2%.

Serious Mortgage Delinquency Rate By Loan Type- Q1 2005 – Q3 2020

Seroious Mortgage Delinquency Rate By Loan Type- Q1 2005 - Q3 2020

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Continue reading “COVID-19 Pandemic Driven Serious Mortgage Delinquencies To Highest Levels Since The Great Recession

Home Foreclosure Ban Extended Through End of June – Is this a ticking time bomb?

President Joe Biden on Tuesday extended the ban on home foreclosures for federally backed mortgages until June 30, 2021.  This is the second extension of the ban which was originally set to expire January 31, 2021, but then previously extended by President Biden to March 31, 2021.

Meanwhile, as the chart below shows, serious delinquencies on home mortgages have been on the rise since nearly the beginning of the pandemic almost a year ago.  The ban on foreclosures is certainly a welcome relief to those struggling to make their house payments. However, with such a high delinquency rate one has to wonder if it is just delaying the inevitable and that this is sort of a ticking time bomb for the real estate market?  I say that because with the number of mortgage delinquencies piling up it is safe to assume that once the ban is over there will be a massive amount of foreclosures hitting the market which may very well have a negative impact on the market.

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Mortgage Delinquency Rates
Mortgage Delinquency Rates 

Fannie Mae Offers Mortgage Payment Deferral Plans for Eligible Homeowners

Fannie Mae, the leading source of financing for home mortgages in the U.S. (they purchase home loans from lenders), earlier this week announced some payment deferral plans to help borrowers.  Fannie Mae is authorizing it’s loan servicers to provide options to borrowers that have fallen delinquent or are having trouble making their house payments,  which is likely a result of the financial impact on them of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While it’s complicated, there are several options that Fannie Mae has made available to loan servicers to offer to borrowers that are struggling.  Complete details are in Fannie Mae Lender Letter (LL-2020-05) but the highlights are below:

  • Eligibility criteria for a Payment Deferral:
    • The mortgage loan must be a conventional first lien mortgage loan, and may be a fixed-rate, a step-rate, or an ARM.(the property may be vacant)
      • As of the date of the evaluation, the mortgage loan must be 30 or 60 days delinquent (i.e., the borrower is not past due for more than two full monthly contractual payments); and
      • such delinquency status must have remained unchanged for at least three consecutive months, including the month of the evaluation.
    • And, the loan servicer must confirm that the borrower:
      • has resolved the hardship,
      • is able to continue making the full monthly contractual payment, and
      • is unable to reinstate the mortgage loan or afford a repayment plan to cure the delinquency.

There are some other conditions as well but those are the primary ones.  Assuming the borrower meets these requirements, there are several options available to them.  There are many options the lender can offer which include:

  • Defer the past due payments (without interest accruing) until the mortgage loan matures, until the property is sold or the loan is refinanced or paid off.

If the hardship that caused the borrower to fall behind has been resolved however the borrowers do not have the ability to pay the delinquent payments, another option is for the lender to offer to increase future payments for a period of time to make up for the delinquent payments.  If the borrower cannot afford the increased payments, that is when the payment deferral plan above kicks in.  If the borrower’s hardship has not been resolved, then Fannie Mae can offer a forbearance plan.

If you are a homeowner and having problems making your payments, the best thing to do is immediately call your loan servicer to see what options are available to you. 

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Why I’m Bullish On Real Estate For 2020

As you may have noticed, I’ve been pretty optimistic about the outlook for the real estate market this year however, that is not always the case as I call it like I see it.  The reason for my optimism is based upon what a true data geek like myself would base it upon, data!  So, what’s the data that has me believing 2020 will be a good year for the housing market in St Louis and beyond?  Several things:

  • As I have been reporting here for the past couple of years now, mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates have continued to decline which show the strength of the economy as a whole as well as the housing industry.
  • As the US Economic Indicators charts below show, since peaking around 2010, the unemployment rate, 30-year mortgage rate and mortgage delinquency rates have all steadily declines to either record lows or at least the lowest rate in recent history.
  • As the St Louis unemployment, home prices and rent chart below shows, unemployment in St Louis has fallen to the lowest level in decades and the relationship between home prices and rents show home prices lagging behind rents indicating that we’ll likely see continued, good housing appreciation rates.
  • As the 30-year fixed rate mortgage chart below shows, mortgage rates are at near record low rates giving buyers much more buying power.  In my market update video I shared here a day or two ago I illustrate just how much more buying power this translates into.
  • As I reported last week, St Louis home sales last year managed to top the prior year slightly, in spite of the low-inventory market we have been stuck in.  This shows the demand that is out there.
  • As I reported earlier this week, the home sales trend for 2020 in St Louis is in positive territory has well.

Continue reading “Why I’m Bullish On Real Estate For 2020

In 2019 St Louis Had The 8th Highest Foreclosure Rate of The 20 Largest MSA’s

Foreclosure rates and mortgage delinquency rates have steadily declined over the past couple of years as the housing market, as well as the overall economy, have both continued to improve and thrive.  Nonetheless, foreclosures still take place and during 2019 the St Louis MSA had the 8th highest foreclosure rate of the 20 largest MSAs, according to the latest data released by Attom Data Solutions.

As the table below shows, during 2019, in the St Louis MSA there was 1 foreclosure action for every 232 housing units.  Philadelphia, PA, had the highest foreclosure rate of the 20-largest MSAs with one foreclosure action for every 133 housing units and San Francisco had the lowest with one foreclosure action for every 631 housing units.

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2019 Foreclosure Rates – 20 Largest MSAs

2019 Foreclosure Rates – 20 Largest MSAs

Copyright 2020 – St Louis Real Estate News – All rights reserved – Data Source ATTOM Data Solutions

Mortgage Delinquency Rate Hits Lowest Level 20 Years

The good news just keeps coming for the residential real estate industry!  The most recent is from a report just released by CoreLogic showing the mortgage delinquency rate in the U.S. was at 3.8%, the lowest rate in at least 20 years!  In addition, not one state in the country had an increase in overall delinquency rates in September.

Foreclosure Inventory Reaches Low as well…

The foreclosure inventory rate for September was 0.4%, another 20+ year low!

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Mortgage Delinquency Rates Hit 14-Year Low In August

In August, the overall mortgage delinquency rate (30 or more days past due) was 3.7% for the U.S. which is a 0.2 percentage point decline from a year ago and is the lowest overall delinquency rate in 14-years, according to date just released by CoreLogic.  The delinquency rate for August of 3.7% marks the lowest delinquency rate during the month of  August in 20 years.  The serious delinquency rate (120+ days late) decline of 1.2% a year ago to just 1.0% in August 2019, nearly a record low.  The Foreclosure Rate fell in August 2019 to 0.4% from 0.5% a year ago.

Missouri mortgage delinquency rates are low as well…

During August 2019, the overall mortgage delinquency rate for Missouri was exactly the same as the national rate, 3.7%.  The serious delinquency rate in Missouri was 1.1%, just slightly above the national rate, and the foreclosure rate was 0.2%, half of the national rate.

See the current mortgage interest rates here.

 

Foreclosure Rate In St Louis Continues To Fall As Market Remains Strong

The strong St Louis housing market, as well as the strong economy, continues to help improve mortgage delinquency rates and foreclosure rates in St Louis. The rate of foreclosure in St Louis in April was 1 foreclosure filing for every 2,167 housing units, a decline of 17.4% from the month before when the rate was 1 in every 1,865 housing units, according to the latest data from ATTOM Data Solutions.  The April St Louis foreclosure rate was down 17.9% from the year before.

As the table below shows, over half the counties in the St Louis MSA saw an increase in foreclosure activity in April from the month before, all in the double-digits, however, with the exception of the city of St Louis, all of the larger counties saw a decline from the month before.

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St Louis MSA Foreclosure Rate By County – April 2019

St Louis MSA Foreclosure Rate By County - April 2019

Data Source: ATTOM Data Solutions -©2019 St Louis Real Estate News – All Rights Reserved

Mortgage Delinquency Rate Falls To Lowest Level In More Than 12 Years

The overall mortgage delinquency rate in the U.S. fell in August to the lowest level in over 12 years, according to a report just released by CoreLogic.  According to the report, 4.2% of all St Louis home mortgages were 30+ days delinquent in August 2018, a decline of over 14% from a year ago when the rate was 4.9%.  During the same period, seriously delinquent mortgages, those that are 90+ days late, in St Louis dropped from 1.8% a year ago to 1.4% in August 2018, according to the report.

 

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Continue to Improve-St Louis Distressed Home Sales Falling

Mortgage delinquency rates, the precursor to foreclosures, continue to fall as the real estate market continues to perform well.  The 30-plus day mortgage delinquency rate for June 2018 fell to 4.3% of all outstanding mortgages down from 4.6% a year ago, according to a report just released by CoreLogic.  Frank Nothaft, the Chief Economist for CoreLogic, attributed the good news to “A solid labor market” going on to say that June’s national unemployment rate of 4% was “the lowest for June in 18 years“.

St Louis distressed home sales falling quickly…

With the economy and real estate market doing so well, distressed home sales (short-sales and foreclosures) continue to decline.  As our chart below shows, the 12-month trend line for distressed home sales in the 5-County core St Louis market (city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson, and Franklin)  fell to 1,137 sales for the 12-month period ending August 2018.  This is a decline of 30% in distressed home sales in St Louis, from a year ago when there were 1,632 distressed home sales during the prior 12-month period.

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St Louis Distressed Home Sales -12 Month Trend – Past 24 Months

(Click on chart for live chart)

St Louis Distressed Home Sales -12 Month Trend - Past 24 Months

 

 

 

House Flipping In St Louis Drops Twenty-Three Percent In 2nd Quarter

House flipping, something that has become quite popular among investors over the past few years and has even spawned several reality TV shows, continues to decline in terms of the number of flips.  This is certainly not due to a lack of interest but instead a lack of opportunities.  Many flipping opportunities are the result of foreclosures and with the mortgage delinquency rates continuing to improve resulting in declining foreclosure rates, the end result is few opportunities for investors to flip homes.

In St Louis, during the 2nd quarter of 2018, there were 835 homes flipped in the St Louis metro area, a decline of 23.0% from the quarter before and a 4.7% decline from a year ago.  This is down 32.5% from the peak during the 3rd quarter of 2005 when there were 1,237 homes flipped in St Louis.

The table below shows the 2nd quarter house flipping data for St Louis, from ATTOM Data Services and includes the median size and age of the homes flipped, as well as median time to flip,  prices and profits.

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St Louis House Flips – 2nd Quarter 2018

St Louis House Flips - 2nd Quarter 2018

House Flipping Volume In St Louis Down From Year Ago

During the first quarter of this year, there were 600 home “flips” in St Louis or about 8.6% of the homes sold in St Louis, according to data just released by ATTOM Data Research.  This rate of flipped homes is up 5% from the prior quarter, however, is down 7% from a year ago. The decline certainly doesn’t have anything to do with a lack of interest by investors in flipping, it has more to do with a low inventory and declining mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates reducing the opportunities.

What is a “flipped” home?

In the report issued by ATTOM Data Research, any home or condo that was sold during the first quarter of this year in an arms-length sale that had previously had an arms-length sale within the prior 12 months as well, was considered a “flip”.  Since homeowners don’t tend to buy a home only to turn around and resell it within a year, when this does occur it is typically the result of an investor buying a property, renovating it, then reselling it.

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Home Mortgage Lending In Low and Moderate Income Areas On The Rise

There is little doubt that lower-income individuals and, subsequently, lower-income neighborhoods, were impacted more negatively by the housing market bubble burst in 2008 than other areas.  This resulted in extremely high mortgage delinquency rates, high foreclosure rates, and declining home values.  Afterward, citing “loose” lending standards, sub-prime mortgages, etc, the mortgage market tightened the reins on mortgage lending making it more difficult for everyone to get a loan, but particularly, those folks in the lower income brackets.

As time has passed, home loan requirements have eased and it is now easier to obtain a home loan.  Some of the requirements that have eased are minimum credit scores, down-payment requirements as well as rules affecting seller paid closing costs, gifts, etc, which has, in particular, helped lower and moderate-income home buyers.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the government “watch-dog” of all things financial, tracks and reports data related to home mortgages which reveal that, in fact, home mortgage lending has increased to the highest levels in over a decade in low and moderate-income areas.  The CFPB charts below reveal:

  • Home loan volume in low-income areas topped $3.8 Billion in November 2016, the highest level since the CFPB began tracking this data in January 2009.  The CFPB forecast, predicts that, once the data is in, a record $4 Billion in home loans will be reported for August 2017.
  • Home loan volume in moderate-income areas hit $21.7 Billion in October 2016, also the highest level since the CFPB began tracking this data in January 2009.  The CFPB forecast, predicts that, once the data is in, a record of $23+ Billion in home loans will be reported for July 2017.
  • The middle-income areas have fared well also with home-loan volume hitting a record $76.8 Billion in October 2016.  Unlike the low and moderate income area forecasts, the CFPB is forecasting a slight cooling in the middle-income areas with home loan volume dropping to $73.5 Billion for June 2017 and then slightly lower in July once the data is in.
  • High-income areas are trailing the other areas in terms of home loan volume having peaked at $116 Billion over 4-years ago, in January 2013.  The CFPB is predicting lending data will show $90.5 Billion in home loans in high-income areas for June 2017.

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Low-Income Areas – Home Mortgage Volume

Low-Income Areas - Home Mortgage Volume

Moderate-Income Areas – Home Mortgage Volume

Moderate-Income Areas - Home Mortgage Volume

Middle-Income Areas – Home Mortgage Volume

Middle-Income Areas - Home Mortgage Volume

High-Income Areas – Home Mortgage Volume

High-Income Areas - Home Mortgage Volume

St Louis Mortgage Delinquency Rate Continues To Fall

On a national level, according to a report released by Corelogic, the foreclosure rate is at a 10-year low and, for the most part, mortgage delinquency rates continue to fall as real estate markets around the country continue to improve.

The state of Missouri, as well as it’s two big metro areas, St Louis and Kansas City, are following suit with improvements in mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates.

State of Missouri- Mortgage Delinquency/Foreclosure Rates:

  • 30+ day mortgage delinquency rate improved from 5.3% of all mortgage loans a year ago to 4.5% for July 2017;
  • 90+ day mortgage delinquency rate improved from 2.0% a year ago to 1.5% in July 2017;
  • Foreclosure rate improved from 0.5% a year ago to just 0.3% in July 2017

St Louis Metro Area- Mortgage Delinquency/Foreclosure Rates:

  • 30+ day mortgage delinquency rate improved from 8.1% of all mortgage loans a year ago to 6.8% for July 2017;
  • 90+ day mortgage delinquency rate improved from 3.7% a year ago to 3.0% in July, 2017;
  • Foreclosure rate improved from 1.7% a year ago to just 1.2% in July 2017

Kansas City Metro Area- Mortgage Delinquency/Foreclosure Rates:

  • 30+ day mortgage delinquency rate improved from 5.0% of all mortgage loans a year ago to 4.1% for July 2017;
  • 90+ day mortgage delinquency rate improved from 1.9% a year ago to 1.4% in July, 2017;
  • Foreclosure rate improved from 0.5% a year ago to just 0.3% in July 2017

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Mortgage Loan Delinquency Rates Hit Lowest Level Since 2000

According to a report just released by Corelogic, the 30-59 day mortgage delinquency rate in March (the most recent month reported) fell to just 1.7%, the lowest level since January 2000.  The “seriously delinquency” rate (30+ days late) fell to 4.4% in March, the lowest level sine November 2007, according to Corelogic.

In addition, the “transition rates” all improved as well from a year ago.  Transition rates show which way the borrowers are moving, from slightly delinquent to more delinquent, or from slightly delinquent to current for example.  Below are the transition rates for March 2017, according to the Corelogic report:

  • Borrowers going from current to 30 days late – 0.6% for March 2017, down from 0.7% in March 2016
  • Borrowers going from 30 days late to 60 days late – 11.6% for March 2017, down from 13.2% in March 2016
  • Borrowers going from 60 days late to 90 days late – 20.8% for March 2017, down from 23.1% in March 2016

All of this is good news for the real estate industry as the trends are positive and are is a good “leading indicator” of what is to come.  As mortgage delinquencies decrease, foreclosures, short sales and other distressed home sales decline, putting less downward pricing pressure on the housing market and providing sustainability to the improving housing market.

Speaking of mortgages, if you are considering refinancing, want to know what current rates and terms are, or would like to get pre-approved for a mortgage, I would highly recommend speaking with Ryan Derryberry, a mortgage loan professional with Movement Mortgage.  Ryan is a great guy, is honest and knows his stuff. Movement is a great company, founded and operated on great principals and offer some mortgage products you won’t find anywhere else….More information on Ryan, including his contact info, can be found here.

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Foreclosure and Serious Delinquency Rates Continue to Decline in Missouri

The foreclosure rate in Missouri continues to decline with the foreclosure rate for February 2017 coming in a 0.4 percent, according to a report just released by CoreLogic.  The rate for February is down slightly from a year ago when the Missouri foreclosure rate was 0.5 percent.  Based upon the mortgage serious delinquency rate (90 days or more) as well as delinquency rate (30 days or more), both lead-indicators or predictors of things to come with regard to foreclosures, the foreclosure rate will continue to decline in the near term.  The mortgage delinquency rate for February 2017 was 4.9%, down from 5.1% in February 2016 and the serious delinquency rate was 1.8% during February 2017, down from 2.2% a year ago.

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Mortgage Delinquency Rates Continue To Fall And Now Back To Normal

Mortgage Delinquency rates, borrowers that are 60 or more days past due, are projected to be 2.21 percent for the 4th quarter of 2016, down from 2.46% the quarter before and marking the 13th consecutive quarter mortgage delinquency rates have fallen, according to a report just released by TransUnion.  According to the report, mortgage delinquency rates peaked at 7.21 percent during the 1st quarter of 2010 and have declined for 23 of the last 26 quarters since.  TransUnion considers the current mortgage delinquency rate to be normal and is projecting the delinquency rate will fall even further next year down to 2.11% by the end of 2017.

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Home Loan Delinquencies Continue To Decline-May Lead To Easing Requirements

According to a report just released by TransUnion, the mortgage delinquency rate for borrowers that are 60 days or more delinquent, declined almost 30 percent during the 3rd quarter of 2015 from a year ago.  During the third quarter of this year, the mortgage delinquency rate was 2.40%, down from 3.36% during the third quarter of 2014.

Mortgage Delinquencies Down 65% From Peak

The current mortgage delinquency rate of 2.40% is down 65% from when the delinquency rate peaked at 6.94% in the 1st quarter of 2010 as a result of the housing market bubble bursting in 2008.

Millennials Pay Their House Payments!

According to the report, the age group with the lowest mortgage delinquency rate fell in the millennial category having a delinquency rate of just 1.62%.  Right behind the young borrowers were the old ones (well, relatively speaking) with the 60+ age group having the 2nd lowest delinquency rate with 1.77%.

Out with the bad in with the good…

Joe Mellman, vice president and mortgage business leader for TransUnion, attributes the mortgage delinquency improvement to a combination of factors including:

  • Continued “funneling” of delinquent accounts through he foreclosure process
  • Strong performance by recent borrowers
  • Improving home prices

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St Louis Mortgage Delinquency and Foreclosure Rates Drop To Lowest Level in Years

For the month  of May, 2015, less than 3 percent (2.95%) of St Louis mortgages were seriously delinquent (90+ days) marking a slight decline from the month before and a decline of 13 percent from a year ago, according to data just released by CoreLogic.  The St Louis foreclosure rate also hit the lowest level in a long time in May at 0.67 percent, a slight decline from 0.69 percent the month before and a decline of 10% from a year ago when the foreclosure rate was 0.77 percent.

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Mortgage Delinquency Rates Drop To Pre-Bubble Level

The mortgage delinquency rate (home owners that are 60 days or more delinquent on mortgage payment) dropped to 2.95 percent in the first quarter of 2015, marking the first time the mortgage delinquency rate has been below 3 percent since the 3rd quarter of 2007 when the rate was 2.61 percent, according to a report released this morning by TransUnion.  This is also the 13th consecutive quarter the mortgage delinquency rate has declined from the prior quarter.

Subprime delinquency rate is over 9 times higher…

The report also shows that the mortgage delinquency rate for subprime borrowers fell in the first quart of this year as well, down to 27.23 percent from 29.76 percent during the prior quarter.  Even with the improvement, the mortgage delinquency rate for subprime borrowers is still over 9 times greater than for borrowers overall.  This is a great improvement from the peak however, in the first quarter of 2010, when the rate was 40.48 percent for subprime borrowers.


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Mortgage Delinquencies Drop 14 Percent in Past Year- More Non-Prime Borrowers Getting Home Loans

Mortgage Delinquencies (borrowers that are 60 days or more late on their house payment) declined in the 4th quarter of 2014 marking the 12th consecutive quarter of declines in the mortgage delinquency rate, according to data just released by TrasnUnion.  As the table below shows, the mortgage delinquency rate for the 4th quarter of last year was 3.29%, a decline of 2.1% from the quarter before and a decline of 14.5% from the 4th quarter of 2013.

Foreclosures and better borrowers are the reason…

Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting at TrasnUnion,  said the improvement in mortgage delinquencies are driven “primarily by the ongoing clearance of the foreclosure backlog” and also notes that recent borrowers “have been performing exceptionally well“.

Young borrowers show best improvement….

Although mortgage delinquencies improved for all age groups, the youngest group (age 30 and under) had the largest improvement from a year ago with the mortgage delinquency rate dropping to 2.21% for 4th quarter 2014, a 24.3% decline from a year ago when the delinquency rate was 2.92%.

More home loans to “Non-Prime” borrowers…

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Seriously Delinquent Mortgage Rate Falls to Lowest Level In Six Years

The seriously delinquent mortgage rate  (90+ days late) fell to 1.91 percent of all outstanding mortgages in November, the lowest level since December 2008, according to a report just released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).  The percentage of loans that were 30-59 days late rose in November to 1.69% from 1.39% the month before and the 60+ day delinquency rate rose from 2.32% in October to 2.36% in November.

The tables below have complete mortgage delinquency data.

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St Louis Ranked Seventh In Number of Completed Foreclosures In 2014

St Louis had 6,215 completed foreclosures in 2014 putting it 7th on the list of metros in the U.S. in terms of the number of completed foreclosures.  As the table below, which lists the 25 top metro areas for foreclosures, shows, Tampa saw the most foreclosures with over 18,000 being completed during 2014, according to newly released data from Corelogic.

According to the Corelogic report, there were  563,294 completed foreclosures in the U.S. during 2014, the lowest total for any 12 month period since November 2007 when it was 589,570.

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Congress Passes Extension of Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 5771, the “Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014”,  which had been passed by U.S. House of Representatives on December 3, 2014 and is now headed to President Obama’s desk for his approval.  Assuming President Obama signs the act into law, it will be good news for homeowners that sold their homes in a short sale in 2014 or in some other way was forgiven on mortgage debt during this year.  The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 extends the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 through December 31, 2014 and makes it retroactive to January 1, 2014 so there is no gap in coverage from when the last extension expired.

This falls short of the two year extension the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), among other groups, pushed for which would have covered next year as well, but is at least some relief for those affected this year.  Read the complete article on the extension from last month here.

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Mortgage Delinquency Rate Forecasted To Drop To Pre-Bubble Rates Next Year

The Mortgage Delinquency Rate, the pre-cursor to, and leading indicator of, foreclosures, which play havoc with home prices, is expected to decline to 3.12 percent by the end of this month and continue to decline next year hitting 2.51 percent by the end of 2015,  according to a forecast just released by TransUnion.  If mortgage delinquency rates fall as lowest as forecast, it will hit the lowest level since the housing bubble burst.  A home mortgage that is 60 days or more delinquent is counted in the mortgage delinquency rate for this report by TransUnion.

The report goes on to state that, even though the forecast is good and the rate will be low relative to what we have seen the past 6 years or so, even if the mortgage delinquency rate hits 2.51% as projected, it will still be significantly higher than the historical norm of 1.5% – 2.0%.

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Will The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 Be Extended?

UPDATE December 17, 2014 – Congress has passed an extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 through December 31, 2014 – It is part of a bill that has been sent to President Obama for his approval.  This falls short of the two year extension the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), among other groups, was pushing for which would have covered next year as well, but is at least some relief for those affected this year.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 provided relief for homeowners that receive forgiveness on some of their mortgage debt (such as is the case on a short-sale) in the form of removing their obligation to pay income tax on the amount of their debt that was forgiven by their lender.  Originally, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, was to expire at the end of 2012 but was later extended through the end of 2013 and on April 3rd of this year the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill that, if passed, would reinstate a bunch of tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013, including the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 , through December 31, 2015.  Thus far, the bill has not passed and now many are concerned that it may not which will leave all the people that did short sales this year, or had debt relieved in some other manner, possibly owing income tax on the forgiven debt.

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) have issued a call to action to it’s 1 million plus members asking them to urge their Member of Congress and Senators to act on “The Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act” before the end of 2014.  Apparently, the stumbling block to getting this extended has been politics…shocker, right?  The Democratic Majority Leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, according to the NAR website, “refused to allow an open amendment process” which then, in turn, the Republicans “exercised their rights to prevent the bill from moving to a vote.”

Should the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 be extended?  

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St Louis Foreclosures & Serious Delinquencies Fall In Past Year

The St Louis Foreclosure rate in July 2014 was 0.78 percent, down almost 30 percent from the same time last year when the St Louis foreclosure rate was 1.08 percent, according to data just released by Corelogic.  The foreclosure rate for the state of Missouri in July 2014 was .64%, down from .89% a year ago.

On another good note, the serious mortgage delinquency rate (90+ days) for St Louis in July 2014 was 3.33%, down from 3.85% in July 2013.  On the state level, the Missouri serious mortgage delinquency rate for July 2014 was 3.06% down from 3.52% the year before.

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Mortgage Delinquency and Foreclosure Rates Drop to Lowest Level In 6 Years

Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates both declined in March to the lowest levels since October 2007 and 2008, respectively, according to data just released by Black Knight Financial Services (formerly LPS).  The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (30+ days delinquent)  in March 2014 was 5.52%, a 7.57% decline from the month before and a 16.29% decline from a year ago.  The U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate in March 2014 was 2.13%, a decline of 4.23% from the month before and a drop of 36.69% from March 2013.

There are still several states with double-digit mortgage delinquencies, Mississippi being the one with the highest rate with 13.39% of all mortgages being 30+ days delinquent.  Below is the list of the top 5 states for the highest mortgage delinquency rates as well as the top 5 states for the lowest rates.

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