The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate fell to a new low in February, according to CoreLogic.
Only 3% of all mortgages were 30 days or more past due, according to the software, data and analytics firm.
That’s an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared with January but a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared with February 2022.
Early-stage delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due) represented 1.4% of all loans, up from 1.3% in January and unchanged compared with February 2022.
Loans 60 to 89 days past due represented 0.4%, unchanged compared with February 2022.
Serious delinquencies (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure) represented 1.2% of all loans, down from 1.7% in February 2022.
The foreclosure inventory rate (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process) was 0.3%, up from 0.2% in February 2022.
“Despite a small monthly increase in the share of mortgage payments that were one month late in February, early-stage delinquencies remained unchanged year over year,” says Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic, in the report. “February’s early-stage delinquency rate was historically low and primarily driven by a strong job market. However, the possibility of a recession that would raise the U.S. unemployment rate could slightly erode the current strong mortgage performance situation in the coming months.”
Photo: Bruce Mars
