Black Knight: Delinquencies Up, But Not to Worry

Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, Fla., said mortgage delinquencies spiked in April–but there is no cause for alarm.

The company’s First Look Mortgage Monitor report said mortgage delinquencies jumped by 13 percent in April from March, with 241,000 borrowers entering the early delinquency stage, up from 227,000 in March. But Black Knight Senior Vice President of Data & Analytics Ben Graboske said the increase was primarily calendar-driven.

“April ended on a Sunday, which meant that servicers couldn’t process any payments made on the last two days of the month–all Sunday month-ends usually correlate to a spike in delinquencies for this reason,” Graboske said. “On top of this, March is the typical calendar-year low point for mortgage delinquencies, so there is almost always a rise coming into April.”

Graboske added historically, the month following one ending on a Sunday “tends to see a near, but usually not complete, reversal in the prior month’s rise in delinquencies.”

The report said inventory of loans in active foreclosure continued to fall, hitting a 10-year low of 433,000. Monthly foreclosure starts fell to 52,800, the fewest since January 2005. Prepay speeds–an indicator of refi activity–fell by 11 percent from March.

Other key April report data:

–Total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure): 4.08%, an increase of 12.93% from March but down by 3.58% from a year ago.

–Total U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 0.85%, down by 3.47% from March and by 27.34% from a year ago.

–Total U.S. foreclosure starts: 52,800, down by 12.44% from March and down by 10.05% from a year ago.

–Monthly Prepayment Rate: 0.86%, down by 10.63% from March and by 31.63% from a year ago.

–Foreclosure Sales as % of 90+: 1.96%, down by 14.20% from March and by 7.80% from a year ago.

–Properties 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 2.072 million, up by 241,000 from March but down by 74,000 from a year ago.

–Properties 90 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 581,000, down by 8,000 from March and by 149,000 from a year ago.

–Properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: 433,000, down by 15,000 from March and by 162,000 from a year ago.

–Properties 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure: 2.506 million, up by 227,000 March but down by 235,000 from a year ago.

–States with highest Non-Current loans: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, West Virginia and Maine.

–State with lowest non-current loans: Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana and Oregon.