by Calculated Risk on 6/23/2021 01:25:00 PM

Note: At the beginning of the pandemic, the delinquency rate increased sharply (see table below).   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 at May 2021 Mortgage Data

• The national delinquency rate rose to 4.73% from 4.66% in April, driven largely by the three-day Memorial Day weekend foreshortening available payment windows

• Similar occurrences are rare; the last time was in May 2004, at which time mortgage delinquencies jumped by more than 15% in a single month; this month saw a 1.5% increase

• Early-stage delinquencies (those 30 or 60 days past due) rose by 110,200 in May, while serious delinquencies (90 or more days but not yet in foreclosure) improved for the ninth consecutive month

• Despite this improvement, nearly 1.7 million first-lien mortgages remain seriously delinquent, 1.26 million more than there were prior to the pandemic

• Foreclosure inventory hit yet another new record low as both moratoriums and borrower forbearance plan participation continue to limit activity, keeping foreclosure starts near record lows as well

• Mortgage prepayments fell to their lowest level in more than a year, driven by falling refinance activity as well as purchase-related headwinds
emphasis added

According to Black Knight's First Look report, the percent of loans delinquent increased 1.5% in May compared to April, and decreased 39% year-over-year.

The percent of loans in the foreclosure process decreased 2.5% in May and were down 26% 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 4.73% in May, up from 4.66% in April.

The percent of loans in the foreclosure process decreased in May to 0.28%, from 0.29% in April.

The number of delinquent properties, but not in foreclosure, is down 1,612,000 properties year-over-year, and the number of properties in the foreclosure process is down 52,000 properties year-over-year.

Black Knight: Percent Loans Delinquent and in Foreclosure Process
	May  2021	Apr 2021	May 2020	May 2019
Delinquent	4.73%	4.66%	7.76%	3.36%
In Foreclosure	0.28%	0.29%	0.38%	0.49%
Number of properties:
Number of properties that are delinquent, but not in foreclosure:	2,511,000	2,500,000	4,123,000	1,760,000
Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory:	148,000	153,000	200,000	255,000
Total Properties	2,659,000	2,653,000	4,323,000	2,015,000