Black Knight: Summer Hurricanes Push Mortgage Delinquencies Higher

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said seasonal and hurricane-related events this summer pushed mortgage delinquencies to their highest single-month rate in nearly a decade.

The company’s September First Look Mortgage Monitor reported mortgage delinquencies rose more than 13 percent in September from August, the largest single-month rise since November 2008 and the 16th of the past 19 Septembers with an increase in delinquencies, averaging a 5.2 percent rise over that time frame.

The report said Hurricane Florence-related delinquencies spiked by 38 percent month-over-month, with more than 6,000 borrowers already missing a payment as a direct result of the storm. Foreclosure starts posted a double-digit monthly decline, hitting a nearly 18-year low at just 40,000 for the month.

Black Knight said both the inventory of loans in active foreclosure and the foreclosure rate have now fallen below their pre-recession averages for the first time since the financial crisis. Additionally, monthly prepayment activity–now primarily driven by housing turnover–fell by nearly 25 percent from August

Other report data:

–Total U.S. loan delinquency rate: 3.97 percent in September, a 13.22 percent increase from August but a 9.77 percent decrease from a year ago.

–Total foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 0.52 percent, down by 4.45 percent from August and down by 26 percent from a year ago.

–Total foreclosure starts: 40,000, down by 15.07 percent from August and down by 11.50 percent from a year ago.

–Properties 30 or more days delinquent but not in foreclosure: 2.049 million, up by 240,000 from August but down by 190,000 from a year ago.

–Properties 90 or more days delinquent but no in foreclosure: 513,000, up by 7,000 from August but down by 63,000 from a year ago.

–Properties in pre-sale foreclosure inventory: 268,000, down by 13,000 from August and down by 90,000 from a year ago.

–Properties 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure: 2.317 million, up by 228,000 from August but down by 286,000 from a year ago.