There were about 30,000 foreclosure starts in July, an increase of 32% compared with June and up 14% compared with July 2023, according to ICE Mortgage Technology’s First Look report.
However, the increase is partially a byproduct of starts hitting a multi-year low the month prior, rather than a sign of underlying stress in the market, the firm says.
The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate was 3.37% in July, down 3.46% compared with June but up 4.8% in July 2023, according to the report.
As of the end of July there were about 1.82 million homes 30 days or more past due on the mortgage, down about 61,000 from June but up about 112,000 compared with a year earlier.
Delinquencies declined in all major markets except Houston, where Hurricane Beryl resulted in an estimated 10,000 mortgage holders falling behind on payments as a result of the storm, ICE says in its report.
About 435,000 mortgages were seriously delinquent, an increase of 5,000 compared with June but down about 33,000 compared with July 2023.
The foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate was 0.35% – up about 1% compared with the previous month but down 16% compared with a year earlier.
As of the end of the month there were about 188,000 homes in the foreclosure pre-sale inventory, an increase of about 2,000 compared with June but down about 32,000 compared with July 2023.
The monthly prepayment rate was 0.6% – an increase of 11.6% compared with June and up nearly 20% from July 2023.
Photo: Ian MacDonald
