CoreLogic: Delinquency, Foreclosure Rates Low in February

(Image courtesy of CoreLogic; Breakout image courtesy of Erik Mclean/pexels.com)

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., reported the overall mortgage delinquency rate was at 2.8% in February, down from 3% in February 2023.

Early Stage delinquency was 1.5%, up slightly from 1.4% in February 2023.

Adverse delinquency was at 0.4%, foreclosure inventory rates at 0.3% and transition rates at 0.7%, all flat from the previous February.

Serious delinquency was 0.9%, down from 1.2% in February 2023.

All stages of delinquency remained near historic lows in February. And, CoreLogic noted, U.S. homeowners currently have substantial equity growth–up by $1.3 trillion or 8.6% on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“The U.S. delinquency rate fell from a year earlier for the first time in six months in February, indicating that mortgage performance remains strong. The decrease in delinquencies was driven by the decline in the share of mortgages that were six months or more past due, a number that has been consistently shrinking and fell to its lowest level in 15 years in February,” noted Molly Boesel, Principal Economist for CoreLogic. “As later-stage delinquencies decrease, the share of mortgages in foreclosure remained at 0.3% in February, where it has been since March 2022 and only slightly higher than the all-time low.”

Only four states saw overall mortgage delinquency rates increase year-over-year in February–the fewest since last summer. Those were led by Arizona, up 0.2 percentage point.