National Delinquency Drops below March 2020 Level for the First Time Since Pandemic, Says Report

For the month of November, 3.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 2.3-percentage point decrease compared to November 2020, when it was 5.9%.

To gain a complete view of the mortgage market and loan performance health, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency. In November 2021, the U.S. delinquency and transition rates, and their year-over-year changes, were as follows:

• Early-Stage Delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due): 1.2%, down from 1.4% in November 2020.
• Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 0.3%, down from 0.6% in November 2020.
• Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 2%, down from 3.9% in November 2020 and a high of 4.3% in August 2020.
• Foreclosure Inventory Rate (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.2%, down from 0.3% in November 2020. This remains the lowest foreclosure rate recorded since 1999.
• Transition Rate (the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due): 0.6%, down from 0.8% in November 2020.

For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, national overall delinquency dropped below the March 2020 level of 3.6%, a sign that mortgage performance is following the nation’s income growth. At the same time, foreclosure rates remain at historic lows as borrowers have been able to lean into the equity generated by a year of record-breaking home price growth. These factors combined have helped borrowers weather the lasting economic impacts brought on by the pandemic and avoid falling behind on payments or losing their homes.

“Nonfarm employment rose 6.45 million during 2021, helping to rebuild income for families under financial stress during the pandemic,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “Income growth has helped to reduce past-due rates and home equity build-up has reduced the likelihood of a distressed sale for families that experience financial challenges.”

State and Metro Takeaways:

The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on March 8, 2022, featuring data for December 2021. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Intelligence Blog: www.corelogic.com/intelligence.

Methodology

The data in The CoreLogic LPI report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through November 2021. The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. CoreLogic has approximately 75% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data.