ICE First Look: National Mortgage Delinquency Rate Edges Lower in January

(Stock Photo courtesy of Johnson via Unsplash)

Intercontinental Exchange, Atlanta, reported the national delinquency rate eased in January: delinquencies fell by 3 basis points to 3.65% and remain 15 basis points below the January 2020 pre-pandemic benchmark.

“Mortgage performance held steady to start the year, with fewer early-stage delinquencies helping bring the national delinquency rate down,” said Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at ICE in the firm’s January 2026 ICE First Look at mortgage delinquency, foreclosure and prepayment trends.

“At the same time, late-stage delinquencies and foreclosure volumes are both trending higher than they were a year ago,” Walden added, noting the data point to a market that remains resilient overall with most borrowers performing well while a subset faces increased payment pressure.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• Early-stage delinquencies drove the delinquency rate decrease: The number of borrowers 30 or 60 days late on their mortgage payments fell by 54,000 from December to January, driving the overall improvement in delinquency figures.

• Combined serious delinquency and foreclosure volumes increased: While earlier stage delinquencies improved, there are now more than 850,000 borrowers 90-plus days past due or in active foreclosure, up 104,000 from the same time last year, the largest such volume since July 2022.

• Foreclosure activity continued to rise: January saw 42,000 foreclosure starts, the highest monthly total since early 2020 and up 5% year over year, with foreclosure sales rose 28%.

• Prepayments pulled back: The single-month mortality rate, which tracks prepayments, dropped 19 basis points to 0.72% from elevated levels over the past three months. An uptick in interest rates in December resulted in fewer January home sales and reduced refinance activity, ICE noted.