Serious Delinquencies Fell To Lowest Point Since 1999

Serious mortgage delinquencies fell to their lowest point since 1999 in August, but financial pressures could force them up in the future. In August, 2.6% of all U.S. mortgages were in some stage of delinquency, down 0.2% YOY and 0.1% from July 2023, according to CoreLogic’s latest Loan Performance Insights Report. Early-stage delinquencies and adverse delinquencies both increased a modest 0.1% from August 2022, but serious delinquencies declined (-0.3%) to their lowest level in nearly 25 years. Overall, mortgage delinquencies remain near historic lows. CoreLogic’s data reflects the stability of homeowners swimming in record-high equity. After slipping through the end of 2022, home prices shot up once again in mid-2023, giving homeowners unprecedented financial security. With competition for well-priced homes…

Prepayments Drop To 20-Year Low

Prepayment activity dropped to a nearly 22-year low in September as interest rates rose to nearly 7%. According to Black Knight’s September 2022 First Look. prepayment activity slid by 14.9% to a single-month mortality rate of 0.57% in September, besting January 2019’s record of 0.59%. It’s the lowest level since November 2000. Inflation is a factor in low prepayment activity, says Jacob Channel, LendingTree’s senior economic analyst.  “Since the start of the year, inflation has increased significantly and as a result, many households likely have less cash that they can allocate toward non-necessities like putting extra money toward their mortgage payment,” he told MarketWatch. Black Knight also reported that the national delinquency rate fell 0.2% from August to 2.78%. This…