Cotality: U.S. Mortgage Delinquency Rate Flat in December

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Cotality, Irvine, Calif., released its latest Loan Performance Indicators, finding that the national mortgage delinquency rate was flat year-over-year in December, standing at 3.2%.

It was a slight increase from 3% in in Q3 2025.

“Delinquency activity ended 2025 on a remarkably even footing, with the national rate showing very little directional movement over the past several months,” said Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality. “What stands out this quarter are the differences emerging at the local level. While the national picture appears calm, nearly half of metropolitan areas experienced an uptick in overall delinquencies, serious delinquencies, and foreclosures. That breadth of localized increases suggests that pockets of households are coming under greater financial strain, even if it’s not yet visible in the national aggregates. As we move into 2026, these metro‑level shifts will be important to watch for early signals of changing borrower performance.”

Broken down by stages, early-stage delinquencies (defined as 30 to 59 days past due) were 1.6%, flat from December 2024. Adverse delinquencies (60 to 89 days past due), were at 0.5%, also flat from December 2024.

Serious delinquencies, at 90-plus days past due and including loans in foreclosure, were at 1.1%, an increase from 1% in December 2024.

The transition rate is at 0.7%, down from 0.8% in in December 2024.

Twenty-three states logged year-over-year increases in their delinquency rates, led by Maryland, up by 0.4 percentage point, and Nevada, up by 0.3 percentage point.