Foreclosures in November were at their lowest since 2000, comprising 0.4 percent of mortgages, according to CoreLogic’s latest Loan Performance Insights Report.
Delinquencies dropped to 4.1 percent of mortgages nationwide, the report shows. Two percent of all mortgages were 30-59 days past due; 0.7 percent were 60-89 days past due; and 1.5 percent were 90 days or more past due. The latter were at their lowest since 2006.
Considering how delinquencies develop, 0.9 percent of mortgages became 30 days past due in November, according to the report. In Nov. 2017, that figure was 1 percent, and in Jan. 2007, 1.2 percent.
All in all, delinquencies have fallen for 11 months in a row.
Fewer foreclosures—brought on by climbing earnings and home values—are an indicator that the market is stabilizing, says Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic.
“Solid income growth, a record amount of home equity and an absence of high-risk loan products put the U.S. homeowner on solid ground,” Nothaft says. “All of this has helped push delinquency and foreclosure rates to the lowest levels in almost two decades, and will provide a cushion if the housing market should turn down.”
There was at least one area where delinquencies grew in November: North Carolina, which was devastated by Hurricane Florence in September. This aftereffect is expected, says CoreLogic CEO/President Frank Martell, is likely to reverse in time.
MORE: 2018 One of the Costliest for Disaster-Related Losses
“On a national basis, we continue to see strong loan performance,” Martell says. “Areas that were impacted by hurricanes or wildfires in 2018 are now seeing relatively large annual gains in the share of mortgages moving into 30-day delinquency. As with previous disasters, this is to be expected and we will see the impacts dissipate over time.”
For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com. Â
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.
