The percentage of mortgages at least 30 days delinquent dropped slightly during January 2017, according to a report by CoreLogic.
The firm’s “Loan Performance Insights Report” showed that 5.3 percent of mortgages were delinquent in January, down 1.1 percent compared with the previous year. The report also found that January 2017’s foreclosure inventory rate dropped to 0.8 percent from 1.1 percent the previous year.
Nationwide, the percentage of mortgage loans 90 days or more past due during January 2017 dropped to 2.5 percent, down from 3.2 percent in January 2016.
“Steady job and income growth, combined with full-doc underwriting, has led to low early-stage delinquencies,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said in a press release. “January’s 0.9 percent transition rate for current to 30 days late is lower than a year ago and much lower than the 1.5 percent average from 2000 and 2001, during which the foreclosure rate was, conversely, lower than it is today.”
“The 30-plus delinquency rate, the most comprehensive measure of mortgage performance, is at a 10-year low and rapidly declining,” CoreLogic President and CEO Frank Martell said.
“While late-stage delinquencies remain in the pipeline in selected markets, early-stage delinquency performance is stellar and the lowest it’s been in two decades. The continued improvement in mortgage performance bodes well for the health of the market in 2017,” Martell added.