CoreLogic: Mortgage Performance Still Strong in April

(Courtesy CoreLogic)

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., released its Loan Performance Insights Report for April, showing that despite some small upticks in certain areas, mortgage delinquencies remain near record lows.

In April, 2.8% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in a stage of delinquency (30 or more days past due, including foreclosure). That’s a 0.1 percentage point decrease year-over-year, but a 0.2 percentage point increase compared with March. Serious delinquencies are at a two-decade low.

Per category:

• Early-stage delinquencies, defined as 30 to 59 days past due, were 1.4%, up from 1.2% in April 2022.
• Adverse delinquencies, defined as 60 to 89 days past due, were 0.4%, up from 0.3% in April 2022.
• Serious delinquencies, defined as 90 days or more past due and including loans in foreclosure, were 1.1%, down from 1.4% in April 2022 and a high of 4.3% in August 2020.
• The foreclosure inventory rate–the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process–was 0.3%, unchanged from April 2022.
• Transition rate, the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due, was 0.8%, up from 0.7% in April 2022.

CoreLogic noted that while the overall delinquency rate rose slightly from March to April, that’s seasonally the norm, as tax bills sometimes stretch homeowners’ budgets and lead to later payments.

“Mortgage performance remained strong in April, with overall delinquencies at minimal levels and serious delinquencies at a 23-year low,” said Molly Boesel, Principal Economist for CoreLogic. “However, there is concern that mortgages originated in a rising-interest-rate environment may have higher instances of delinquencies, as borrowers become stretched financially. While early delinquencies for 2022 mortgage originations are about the same rate as those in other rising interest-rate environments, loans with low down payments are exhibiting comparably higher-than-usual early delinquencies.”

Eleven states posted a year-over-year increase in overall delinquency rates. Topping the list were Idaho, Indiana, Michigan and Utah, each up 0.2 percentage point.

Additionally, 161 metro areas saw year-over-year increases. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., was up by 1.2 percentage points, the most, followed by Punta Gorda, Fla., at a 1 percentage point increase and Bloomsburg-Berwick, Pa., up by 0.8 percentage point.

Four metro areas had an increase in serious delinquency rates. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., was up 0.9 percentage point, Punta Gorda, Fla., was up by 0.8 percentage point and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., and Idaho Falls, Idaho, inched up by 0.1 percentage point each.