National rate was down along with foreclosure rate says Black Knight
The national delinquency rate showed strong improvement at the end of 2019 according to a first look at mortgage data from Black Knight.
It shows a 3.75% decrease in December compared to the previous month and a 12% decrease year-over-year. The 3.40% rate is within 0.04% of May 2019’s record low.
There were 1,803,000 properties 30 days past due but not in foreclosure and 427,000 were 90 days past due but not in foreclosure.
Meanwhile, the foreclosure rate fell to a new 14-year low of 0.46%, down almost 12% year-over-year with just 245,000 loans in active foreclosure.
Prepayment activity gained 1.43% in December, a small dent in the 19% drop of the previous month. Although refinance activity appears to have flattened as interest rates have stabilized, prepayment activity is still 126% higher than December 2018.
States with highest rates
The five states with the highest rates of non-current mortgage loans were Mississippi (9.99%), Louisiana (7.58%), West Virginia (6.54%), Alabama (6.53%), and Arkansas (6.07%). These five are also in the top 5 for 90+ days delinquent percentage led by Mississippi and Louisiana.
The five states with the lowest rates of non-current mortgage loans were California (2.01%), Idaho (1.91%), Oregon (1.84%), Washington (1.77%), and Colorado (1.74%).
