by Calculated Risk on 1/22/2021 08:00:00 AM
Friday, January 22, 2021
Black Knight: National Mortgage Delinquency Rate Decreased in December
Note: Loans in forbearance are counted as delinquent in this survey, but those loans are not reported as delinquent to the credit bureaus.
From Black Knight: Black Knight’s First Look: 2020 Ends With 1.7 Million More Seriously Delinquent Homeowners Than at Start of Year; Foreclosures at Record Low
• The year ended with 1.54 million more delinquent and 1.7 million more seriously delinquent mortgages than at the start of 2020, a looming reminder of the challenges facing the market in 2021According to Black Knight's First Look report, the percent of loans delinquent decreased 3.9% in December compared to November, and increased 79% year-over-year.
• Despite the year-over-year increase, the national delinquency rate saw modest improvement in December, falling by 3.9% from November to 6.08%, the lowest level since April 2020
• Serious delinquencies (loans 90 or more days past due) also improved, falling to 2.15 million from 2.19 million the month prior
• Even after months of improvement, 90-day default activity rose by more than 250% (+2.6 million) overall in 2020
• Foreclosure starts fell by 67% from the year prior and the year’s 40,000 foreclosure sales (completions) represented an annual decline of more than 70%
• Starts and sales have hit record lows as moratoriums and forbearance plans protect distressed homeowners from facing foreclosure in the wake of the pandemic
• Prepayment activity rose by 12% percent in December, ending the year 112% higher than the same month in 2019 and highlighting a still-strong refinance market entering 2021
emphasis added
The percent of loans in the foreclosure process increased 1.3% in December and were down 28% 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 6.08% in December, down from 6.33% in November.
The percent of loans in the foreclosure process increased slightly in December to 0.33%, from 0.33% in November.
The number of delinquent properties, but not in foreclosure, is up 1,448,000 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 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 2020 | Nov 2020 | Dec 2019 | Dec 2018 | |
Delinquent | 6.08% | 6.33% | 3.40% | 3.88% |
In Foreclosure | 0.33% | 0.33% | 0.46% | 0.52% |
Number of properties: | ||||
Number of properties that are delinquent, but not in foreclosure: | 3,251,000 | 3,381,000 | 1,803,000 | 2,013,000 |
Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: | 178,000 | 176,000 | 245,000 | 271,000 |
Total Properties | 3,429,000 | 3,557,000 | 2,047,000 | 2,283,000 |