The number of mortgages that were past due by 30 days or more fell to 3.2 percent in February, continuing an 11-month decline in the number of people who are past due on mortgage payments.
That’s according to the latest monthly loan performance report, released by CoreLogic on Tuesday.
Delinquent properties have fallen 2.5 percentage points from February 2021, when 5.7 percent of homeowners were 30 days or more past due, the latest report shows. Every state reported a drop in the number of homeowners late on payments compared to the year before.
“While job and income gains have helped push delinquency rates lower, some families continue to face financial stress,” said Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic’s chief economist, in a statement.
Half of the borrowers who are past due by 90 days or more, a status known as serious delinquency, are behind on payments by six months or more.
“Even though this group has been declining, the number that have missed at least six monthly payments is still double what it was in the months immediately prior to the pandemic,” Nothaft said.
CoreLogic tracks all stages of delinquencies to provide a picture of the pipeline of homeowners who are struggling to make payments. It shows that the number of people at risk of losing their homes through foreclosure or auction remains at historic lows.
- 30 to 59 days past due (early-stage): 1.3 percent, down from 1.5 percent in February, 2021
- 60 to 89 days past due (adverse): 0.3 percent, down from 0.5 percent in February, 2021
- 90 days or more past due (serious): 1.6 percent, down from 3.7 percent in February, 2021
The number of serious delinquencies has dropped from a high of 4.3 percent in August, 2020.
The share of mortgages that are in some stage of foreclosure is at 0.2 percent, the lowest recorded rate since January, 1999, and a slight dip from the year before.
A slew of state and federal interventions during the onset of the pandemic (which have since expired), likely helped push this rate down.
CoreLogic said with the anticipation of price growth slowing, homeowners may have less protection from default if they fall behind on payments.
States with the highest delinquency rate
- Louisiana: 5.8 percent
- Mississippi: 5.4 percent
- New York: 4.7 percent
- West Virginia: 4.6 percent
- Alabama: 4.3 percent
— CoreLogic report, February 2022
