Mortgage Delinquencies Continue to Decline
Mortgages for single-family homes that are 90 days or more delinquent declined for the third consecutive month in February, Freddie Mac reports.
Delinquencies on single-family homes dropped to 3.78 percent in February from 3.82 percent in January. What’s more, delinquencies were lower than the 4.2% rate reported one year ago.
Freddie Mac also reported that it has completed 23,017 loan modifications for the first two months of the year. Loan modifications in February totaled 11,885 and totaled 11,153 in January.
Source: “Freddie Mac: February Mortgage Delinquencies Decline Again,” Dow Jones Business News (March 25, 2011) and “Freddie Mac Reports Drop in Single-Family Delinquencies in February,” LoanRateUpdate.com (March 28, 2011)
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Second-Quarter Mortgage Delinquencies Slide
Credit reporting agency TransUnion reports that the rate of home mortgage delinquencies – payments 60 days or more late – during the second-quarter was 6.67 percent, up from 5.81 percent in the second quarter of 2009, but down from 6.89 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. It was also marginally better than the 6.77 percent first-quarter 2010 rate.
“We’re seeing signs of recovering in terms of delinquency,” says FJ Guarrera, vice president in TransUnion’s financial services unit.
TransUnion expects the delinquency rate to fall further for the next two quarters, reaching 6.4 percent by the end of 2010.
Source: Associated Press, Eileen AJ Connelly (08/17/2010)
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How Delinquencies Impair Credit Scores
Fair Isaac, which developed FICO scores, used a comparison between two people to explain how mortgage delinquencies affect credit scores.
Fair Isaac derived these numbers from a theoretical calculation based on hypothetical borrowers – one with an initial score of 680 and one with an initial score of 780. FICO scores range from 300 to 850.
The hypothetical person behind the 680 score had six credit accounts, while the person with the 780 score had 10. The consumer with the 780 score had no missed payments other than the mortgage; the 680 example had two late payments before they failed to pay the mortgage.
After a mortgage delinquency, the two scores would look like this:
• After 30-day delinquency, 680 score drops to 620 to 640; 780 score declines to 670 to 690.
• After 90-day delinquency, 680 score falls to 595 to 610; 780 score goes to 645 to 665.
• After foreclosure, short sale, or deed-in-lieu, 680 goes to 575 to 595 and 780 drops to 620 to 640.
• After bankruptcy, 680 drops to 530 to 550; 780 declines to 540 to 560.
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TransUnion Predicts Lower Delinquencies
In an estimated 22 states, mortgage delinquencies are likely to decline in 2010 as tougher standards take effect and lenders remove bad debt from their books, according to credit-information company TransUnion.
TransUnion also expects to see mortgage loans that are 60 or more days overdue decline to 6.39 percent at the end of 2010 from 6.56 in December 2009.
Five states are likely to report increases, led by Florida and Arizona, TransUnion said.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Tess Stynes (12/08/2009)
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Mortgage Delinquencies Are Still Rising
Mortgage delinquencies rose for the 11th straight month, reaching 6.25 percent in the third quarter from 3.96 percent a year earlier and 5.81 percent in the second quarter, according to the credit management company TransUnion.
“Until the housing market can consistently demonstrate several months of home value appreciation and the unemployment rate improves, mortgage delinquency will likely continue to rise,” said F.J. Guarrera, vice president of TransUnion’s financial services division.
Mortgage delinquency rates were highest in Nevada and Florida, reaching 14.5 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively. They were lowest in North Dakota and South Dakota at 1.7 percent and 2.3 percent respectively.
The District of Columbia had the highest debt per borrower at $359,788, while West Virginia had the lowest at $97,265.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Joan E. Solsman (11/17/2009)
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Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Record High
Mortgage delinquencies hit a record high in June with more than 13 percent of homeowners late with at least one mortgage payment or in foreclosure, according to a report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
“As a sign that mortgage performance is once again being driven by unemployment, prime fixed-rate loans now account for one in three foreclosure starts. A year ago, they accounted for one in five,” says Jay Brinkmann, the association’s chief economist.
Florida is at the top of the heap with a total of 22.8 percent of all mortgages delinquent by at least one payment or in the process of foreclosure. That’s twice the national percentage if the Florida numbers are excluded. The next highest states are Nevada, 21.3 percent; Arizona, 16.3 percent; and Michigan, 15.8 percent.
“It is unlikely we will see meaningful reductions in the foreclosure and delinquency rates until the employment situation improves. In addition, in some areas where a number of borrowers have mortgages that are larger than the current value of their homes, any life events such a divorce or loss of a job are likely to translate into foreclosures until prices in those areas recover, not just flatten,” Brinkmann said.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (08/20/2009)
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