by Calculated Risk on 11/03/2014 08:01:00 AM

Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS) released their Mortgage Monitor report for September today. According to BKFS, 5.67% of mortgages were delinquent in September, down from 5.90% in August. BKFS reported that 1.76% of mortgages were in the foreclosure process, down from 2.63% in September 2013.

This gives a total of 7.43% delinquent or in foreclosure. It breaks down as:

• 1,760,000 properties that are 30 or more days, and less than 90 days past due, but not in foreclosure.
• 1,118,000 properties that are 90 or more days delinquent, but not in foreclosure.
• 893,000 loans in foreclosure process.

For a total of ​​3,711,000 loans delinquent or in foreclosure in September. This is down from 4,593,000 in September 2013.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the percent of borrowers and the amount of equity. Black Knight notes: "Only 8 percent of borrowers remain “underwater” on their mortgages, down from a level of 33 percent at the end of 2011, and to the lowest point since 2007"

More from Black Knight:

“Before the most recent reductions in the average 30-year mortgage interest rate, approximately six million borrowers met broad-based ‘refinancibility’ criteria,” said Barnes. “These criteria assume loan-to-value ratios of 80 percent or below, good credit, non-delinquent loan status and current interest rates high enough that borrowers have an incentive to refinance. In light of where rates are today, and looking at borrowers with current notes at 4.5 percent and above, that population has now swelled to 7.4 million – almost a 25 percent increase. This is a relatively conservative assessment though, as those with current rates of 4.25 to 4.5 percent could arguably benefit from refinancing as well. That group adds another 1.7 million borrowers to the population.

“On a related note, we also examined how the equity situation in America has changed since we last looked. Due in no small part to 28 consecutive months of home price appreciation since 2012, we’ve seen the share of borrowers with negative equity drop down to just below eight percent as of July, down from a level of 33 percent at the end of 2011, and to its lowest point since 2007. An additional 8.5 percent of borrowers are in ‘near-negative equity’ positions, with less than 10 percent equity in their homes. However, more than half of all borrowers have 30 percent or more equity, a level not seen in nearly eight years.”

There is much more in the mortgage monitor.