New data from CoreLogic has determined the overall U.S. mortgage delinquency rate plummeted to a new low in March.
During March, 2.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure). This represented down from 3% in the prior month and down 2.9% one year earlier.
CoreLogic noted that serious delinquencies dropped to the lowest level in more than two decades in March, reaching a new nadir at 1.1%, while the foreclosure inventory rate of 0.3% remained near a historic low.
No state posted an annual increase in overall delinquency rates in March. The states with the largest declines were Alaska (down by 0.9 percentage points) and New York (down by 0.8 percentage points), while the other states’ annual delinquency rates dropped between 0.7 and 0.1 percentage points.
“The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate fell to a historic low in March, reflecting the lowest U.S. unemployment rate in more than 50 years,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist for CoreLogic. “While a slowing economy could cause increases in job losses and mortgage delinquencies, years of home equity gains will provide borrowers who fall behind on their payments with a cushion. This equity should protect many homeowners from foreclosures,” Boesel continued. “There is no current projection that the U.S. foreclosure rate will reach the same level as it did during the housing crisis more than a decade ago.”
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