| A new report from real estate data analytics firm CoreLogic finds low unemployment and high home equity has contributed to low delinquency rates across the nation.
Only 4.3 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure) in March 2018, a 0.1 percentage point decline from March 2017, when it was 4.4 percent.
As of March 2018, the foreclosure inventory rate – which measures the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process – was 0.6 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from 0.8 percent in March 2017. Since August 2017, the foreclosure inventory rate has been steady at 0.6 percent, the lowest level since June 2007, when it was also 0.6 percent. The March 2018 foreclosure inventory rate was the lowest for that month in 11 years; it was also 0.6 percent in March 2007.
The rate for early-stage delinquencies – defined as 30 to 59 days past due – was 1.7 percent in March 2018, unchanged from March 2017. The share of mortgages that were 60 to 89 days past due in March 2018 was 0.6 percent, also unchanged from March 2017. The serious delinquency rate – defined as 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure – was 1.9 percent in March 2018, down from 2.1 percent in March 2017. The March 2018 serious delinquency rate was the lowest for that month since 2007, when it was 1.5 percent.
“Unemployment and lack of home equity are two factors that can lead to borrowers defaulting on their mortgages,” Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a statement. “Unemployment is at the lowest level in 18 years, and for the first quarter, the CoreLogic Equity Report revealed record levels of home equity growth with equity per owner up $16,300 on average for the year ending March 2018.”
In Massachusetts petitions to foreclose, the first step in the foreclosure process, were down 27.5 percent in March 2018 compared to March 2017, according to analysis from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. For the same month foreclosure sales were down 3 percent and the number of deeds filed was down 26 percent.
