Delinquencies jump, foreclosures at new low

The number of first-lien mortgage delinquencies jumped 13% in April, the largest monthly increase since November 2008

Delinquencies jump, foreclosures at new low
The number of first-lien mortgage delinquencies jumped 13% in April, the largest monthly increase since November 2008.

Data from Black Knight Financial reveals that month-over-month there were 241,000 additional borrowers past due on mortgage payments, however these were mainly due to March being the typical calendar-year low and April ending on a Sunday.

The delinquencies were mostly in their early-stage.

Active foreclosure inventory was at a 10-year low in April and the month also saw the fewest new foreclosure starts since January 2005, just 52,800, down 12.4% from March and 10% year-over-year.

Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, West Virginia and Maine were the top five states by non-current percentage. In Mississippi, foreclosures and delinquencies made up more than 10% of active mortgages in the state, Louisiana’s rate was around 9% with the other three around 7%.

The bottom states were led by Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana and Oregon. In these states between 2% and 3% of active mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure.

Most improved by non-current percentage were New Jersey (14%), Florida (13%), New York (13%), Nevada (11.7%), and DC (9.7%). Alaska saw the largest deterioration at 17.6%.