Black Knight: January Mortgage Delinquencies Up

Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, reported mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures rose in January, pushing the national delinquency rate to its highest level in a year.

The company’s First Look Mortgage Monitor said mortgage delinquencies rose by 6.6 percent, pushing the national rate above 5 percent for the first time since last February. The inventory of loans 30 or more days delinquent (but not yet in foreclosure) jumped by 167,000 in January.

At the same time, though, Black Knight said the inventory of loans in active foreclosure continued its long term trend of improvement, dropping by another 30,000 to 1.3 percent of loans, the lowest foreclosures have been since November 2007.

Other report highlights:
–The total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) stood at 5.09 percent in January, a 6.62 percent increase from December but a 7.10 percent decline from a year ago.
–The U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate fell to 1.30 percent, down 4.53 percent from December and down 25.69 percent from a year ago.
–Total U.S. foreclosure starts fell to 71,900, a 7.94 percent drop from December and a 23 percent drop from a year ago.
–The Monthly Prepayment Rate fell to 0.81 percent in January, a 28.67 percent drop from December and a 7.88 percent drop from a year ago.
–Properties 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure totaled 2.575 million, an increase of 167,000 from December but a 189,000 drop from a year ago.
–Properties 90 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure rose to 831,000, a 23,000 increase from December but a 229,000 drop from a year ago.
–Properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory fell to 659,000, a 30,000 drop from December and a 226,000 drop from a year ago.
–Properties 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure rose to 3.234 million, an increase of 137,000 from December but a 415,000 drop from a year ago.
–States with the highest non-current percentage: Mississippi (13.00%), Louisiana (10.49%), New Jersey (10.38%), Alabama (9.25%) and West Virginia (9.19%). New York fell out of the top five for the first time since 2010.
–States with the lowest non-current percentage: North Dakota (2.41%), Colorado (3.03%), Alaska (3.24%), Minnesota (3.29%) and South Dakota (3.50%).