The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate remained near its record low in September, with the percentage of loans in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure) at 2.8%, according to CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights Report.
The mortgage delinquency rate has been hovering at around 2.8% for the past 18 months, the firm says. September marked the first month in more than two years that the overall U.S. mortgage delinquency rate did not decline on an annual basis.
Early-stage delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due) were at a rate of 1.5%, up from 1.2% in September 2022. Loans 60 to 89 days past due were at a rate of 0.4%, unchanged compared with September 2022.
The serious delinquency rate (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure) was at 0.9%, down from 1.2% in September 2022 and a high of 4.3% in August 2020.
The foreclosure inventory rate – the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process – also continued to hold near its all-time low, at 0.3%.
An overwhelming majority of homeowners with a mortgage were able to make their payments on time in September, in line with data recorded since the spring of 2022, the firm writes in its report. Fifteen states saw annual upticks in overall delinquency rates, with increases ranging from 0.5 percent to 0.1 percent in each of those states. Mortgage performance remains on solid ground in part thanks to a still-healthy job market, although it is worth noting that the U.S. unemployment rate inched up to its highest level since January 2022 in October.
September delinquency rates are also reminders of the impact that natural disasters have on mortgage performance. One month following the hurricane-fueled wildfires in Hawaii, delinquency rates increased in the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina metro.
Similarly, delinquency rates are still elevated in Punta Gorda and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., a full year after Hurricane Ian hit those areas.
“The overall U.S. delinquency rate was unchanged from one year ago in September and remains near an all-time low,” says Molly Boesel, principal economist for CoreLogic. “While there was a decrease in the share of mortgages six months or more past due, there was a compensating increase in early-stage delinquencies. If the labor market weakens in the coming months, expect further increases in mortgage delinquencies.”