Mortgage Deliquency Rates Dropped to 4% in January

Irvine, CA, April 10, 2019-Nationally, 4% of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure) in January 2019, representing a 0.9 percentage point decline in the overall delinquency rate compared with January 2018, when it was 4.9%, according to the CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report. 

This was the lowest for the month of January in at least 20 years.

The rate for early-stage delinquencies-defined as 30 to 59 days past due-was 1.9% in January 2019, down from 2% in January 2018. The share of mortgages 60 to 89 days past due in January 2019 was 0.7%, down from 0.8% in January 2018. The serious delinquency rate-defined as 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure-was 1.4% in January 2019, down from 2.1% in January 2018. The serious delinquency rate of 1.4% this January was the lowest for that month since 2001 when it was also 1.4% and was the lowest for any month since September 2006 when it was also 1.4%.

Since early-stage delinquencies can be volatile, CoreLogic also analyzes transition rates. The share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due was 0.8% in January 2019, unchanged from January 2018. By comparison, in January 2007, just before the start of the financial crisis, the current-to-30-day transition rate was 1.2%, while it peaked in November 2008 at 2%.