The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate increased slightly in September to reach 3.0% of all mortgages – an increase of 0.2% compared with September 2023, according to CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights Report.
It was the fourth consecutive month that the year-over-year delinquency rate increased.
Early-stage delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due) represented 1.6% of all loans, up from 1.5% in September 2023.
Loans 60 to 89 days past due represented 0.5% of all loans, up from 0.4% in September 2023.
Serious delinquencies (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure) represented 0.9% of all loans, unchanged compared with last year and continuing its downward trend from a high of 4.3% in August 2020.
The foreclosure inventory rate, which measures the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process, was 0.3% in September, unchanged compared with the same time last year.
The foreclosure inventory rate in September continues near the lowest rates seen since 1999.
“Loan performance in the third quarter of 2024 showed a continual upward trend in mortgage delinquencies,” says Molly Boesel, senior principal economist for CoreLogic, in a statement. “Delinquencies remain low, particularly when compared with those during the Great Recession. However, 70 percent of metropolitan areas showed an increase in the overall delinquency rate from a year earlier, and more concerning, 30 percent of metropolitan areas showed an increase in the serious delinquency rate. As recently as the second quarter of 2024, only 5 percent of metros recorded an increase in serious delinquency rates. The increase in the serious delinquency rate shows that borrowers who enter the delinquency pipeline are having difficulty catching up on their late payments.”
Thirty-eight states saw overall mortgage delinquency rates increase year over year in September. The two states with the highest delinquency rates were Louisiana (up 0.6 percentage points) and Texas (up 0.4 percentage points). All other states ranged between -0.4 and 0.3 percentage points.
In September, 267 out of 384 U.S. metropolitan areas posted an annual increase in their overall delinquency rate. Top areas include Pine Bluff, Arkansas (up 1.1 percentage points); Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (up 1.0 percentage points); New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana (up 0.8 percentage points); Altoona, Pennsylvania (up 0.8 percentage points); Hammond, Louisiana (up 0.8 percentage points); and Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana (up 0.8 percentage points). All other year-over-year changes ranged between -2.8 and 0.7 percentage points.
In September, 116 metropolitan areas posted an annual increase in their serious delinquency rate. The top areas include Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii (up 0.8 percentage points); Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (up 0.6 percentage points); and Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (up 0.4 percentage points). All other year-over-year changes ranged between -0.4 and 0.3 percentage points.
Photo: Alexander Grey
