Refinances fall, serious delinquencies edge higher
A first look at mortgage performance data for November shows a decline in prepayment activity as refinance activity slipped and there was a slowdown in house prices.
Black Knight’s analysis reveals that the prepayment rate was 0.66%, down almost 14% month-over-month and down 29% from November 2017.
The last time the rate was this low was during the financial crisis with interest rates of 6% and a 50% drop in purchase lending in a 24 month period.
Meanwhile, there was a slight rise in the delinquency rate month-over-month (1.8%) although it was 19% below the level of a year earlier. Serious delinquencies (90+ days past due) also ticked higher to 510,000.
Foreclosure starts fell by 11% month-over-month, with an estimated 45,200 starts in November and although there was a slight rise in foreclosure inventory, it was offset by a month-over-month increase in the number of outstanding mortgages, resulting in a net decline in the national foreclosure rate.
The total US loan delinquency rate (30+ days past due but not in foreclosure) increased 1.79% month-over-month to 3.71% but this is 18.5% below a year earlier.
The top 5 states by non-current percentage were led by Mississippi (10.20%) and also included Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and West Virginia.
The bottom 5 were led by Colorado (1.91%) and included Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho.
