Overall delinquency reached its lowest point in CoreLogic recorded history thanks to improving employment and growing equity
IRVINE, Calif., March 8, 2022 — CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for December 2021.
For the month of December, 3.4% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 2.4 percentage point decrease compared to December 2020, when it was 5.8%. This is the lowest recorded overall delinquency rate in the U.S. since at least January 1999.
To gain a complete view of the mortgage market and loan performance health, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency. In December 2021, the U.S. delinquency and transition rates, and their year-over-year changes, were as follows:
- Early-Stage Delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due): 1.2%, down from 1.4% in December 2020.
- Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 0.3%, down from 0.5% in December 2020.
- Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 1.9%, down from 3.9% in December 2020 and a high of 4.3% in August 2020.
- Foreclosure Inventory Rate (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.2%, down from 0.3% in December 2020. This is the lowest foreclosure rate recorded since at least January 1999.
- Transition Rate (the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due): 0.6%, down from 0.8% in December 2020.
The U.S. unemployment rate declined for the sixth straight month in December 2021 to the lowest since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, national home prices increased by 18.5 percent year over year, helping more owners regain equity. The combination of these dynamics pushed the overall mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates to the lowest levels that CoreLogic has recorded in more than two decades.
“Nonfarm employment grew by 6.7 million workers during 2021, the largest one-year increase, supporting income growth and keeping more families current on their loans,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “Nonetheless, places hit hard by natural disasters have experienced a spike in missed payments. Serious delinquency rates for December in the Houma-Thibodaux metro area were nearly two percentage points higher than immediately before Hurricane Ida.”
State and Metro Takeaways:
- In December 2021, all states logged year-over-year declines in their overall delinquency rate. The states with the largest declines were: Nevada (down 3.7 percentage poiints), Hawaii (down 3.5 percentage points), Florida (down 3.4 percentage points), New Jersey (down 3.3 percentage points) and New York (down 3.2 percentage points).
- All but one U.S. metropolitan area posted at least a small annual decrease in the overall delinquency rate. The one area where deliquencies were unchanged in December 2021 was Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana. Houma was impacted by Hurricane Ida in the fall, but its overall December deliquency rate improved from October and November.
The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on April 12, 2022, featuring data for January 2022. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Intelligence Blog: www-corelogic-com.corelogicstg.wpengine.com/intelligence.
Methodology
The data in The CoreLogic LPI report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through December 2021. The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. CoreLogic has approximately 75% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data.
Source: CoreLogic
The data provided is for use only by the primary recipient or the primary recipient’s publication or broadcast. This data may not be re-sold, republished or licensed to any other source, including publications and sources owned by the primary recipient’s parent company without prior written permission from CoreLogic. Any CoreLogic data used for publication or broadcast, in whole or in part, must be sourced as coming from CoreLogic, a data and analytics company. For use with broadcast or web content, the citation must directly accompany first reference of the data. If the data is illustrated with maps, charts, graphs or other visual elements, the CoreLogic logo must be included on screen or website. For questions, analysis or interpretation of the data, contact Robin Wachner at [email protected]. Data provided may not be modified without the prior written permission of CoreLogic. Do not use the data in any unlawful manner. This data is compiled from public records, contributory databases and proprietary analytics, and its accuracy is dependent upon these sources.
About CoreLogic
CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company’s combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www-corelogic-com.corelogicstg.wpengine.com.
CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contact
Robin Wachner
CoreLogic
[email protected]