Mortgage delinquency rate plummets in 2012

14 percent drop seen

The mortgage delinquency rate on a national level dropped on both a quarterly and yearly basis in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2012, TransUnion said in a recent report.

According to TransUnion, the national mortgage delinquecy rate in Q4 2012 was 5.19 percent. This represents a 4 percent drop from the third quarter (Q3) of 2012 (5.41 percent) and a 14 percent drop from Q4 2011 (6.01 percent).

All told, 48 states saw improvement in mortgage delinquency rates year-over-year, and 37 states and the District of Columbia saw improvement quarter-over-quarter.

Additionally, more than 81 percent of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) saw a yearly drop in mortgage delinquency rates. Los Angeles led the way with a 33.6 percent yearly decline, followed by Memphis (32.2 percent delcine) and Philadelphia (28.3 percent decline).

“The national mortgage delinquency rate experienced its largest yearly decline since the conclusion of the recession, though we still remain far above normal levels,” Tim Martin, group vice president of U.S. Housing in TransUnion’s financial services business unit, said in a statement.

After seeing mortgage delinquency rates rise as much as 54 percent in a year during the recession (2007), delinquency rates have now decreased in three straight years. The national mortgage delinquency rate declined 7 percent in 2010, 6 percent in 2011 and now 14 percent in 2012.

TransUnion does forecast the delinquency rate to continue falling on a national level early in 2013, but the decline may slow.

“The declines in the mortgage delinquency rate will likely be muted for the foreseeable future as the foreclosure process in some states can take more than 1,000 days,” Martin said.

Posted in: Home Equity, Mortgage, Refinance

Home Equity News: This article was published on 2-26-2013 at 11:59 am.

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