The U.S. delinquency rate fell below 3% for the very first time, according to new data from Black Knight Inc. (NYSE:BKI).
The delinquency rate slid by 53 basis points (-15%) last month to 2.92%. In a press statement, Black Knight explained the March data was neither an anomaly nor the start of a new trend.
“While delinquency rates almost always fall in March – as borrowers utilize tax refunds and other seasonal revenues to pay down past-due debt – the drop marked the second largest decline in the past 17 years,” the company said. “Factoring in March’s decline, the total number of past-due mortgages (including active foreclosures) has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 23 years, dating all the way back to April 2000.”
Black Knight added that serious delinquencies – defined as home loans that were 90 or more days past due – fell last month by 51,000 to their lowest level since March 2020. Every state recorded lower delinquency levels in March, ranging from 11.9% in Washington to 21.5% in Vermont.
And while there were upticks in foreclosure starts (+9%) and sales (+4.6%), both levels were below their pre-pandemic volumes. The active foreclosure inventory of 31,000 (12%) was also below March 2020 levels.
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