Delinquencies Decline But Foreclosures Climbed is January News
It appears that the percentage of loans that fell into delinquency the last quarter of 2011 is slowly returning to normal levels, with fewer loans falling into foreclosure. On a seasonally adjusted basis, 7.58% of mortgage borrowers were late on their loan payments during the last three months of 2011. This was down 0.67 percent from 12 months earlier, and 2.5 percent off the peak set in the first quarter of 2010.
However, another new article announced that the number of homes hit with a default notice, auction sale, bank repossession or other foreclosure filing in January rose 3% from December. That’s still significantly lower than a year ago however. One in every 624 U.S. households, nearly 211,000 in total, got hit with some sort of foreclosure filing last month. That was down 19% since January 2011, the 16th month of consecutive declines.
The intentional slowing of the foreclosure process by banks after the robo-signing scandal to be more careful about the paperwork created an artificial appearance of improvement last year. Post-settlement things will pick back up, and foreclosure filings should get back to normal levels. This clearing of inventory should be good for the market if it is allowed to proceed.
The percentage of FHA loans that were past due rose to 12.36% from 12.09% a quarter earlier, and from 12.27% a year earlier. Seriously delinquent FHA loans increased to 9.02 percent from 8.39 percent the previous quarter. Since a large percentage of FHA loans originated during the past few years, they are now in the years most risky for foreclosure.
It appears that the percentage of loans that fell into delinquency the last quarter of 2011 is slowly returning to normal levels, with fewer loans falling into foreclosure. On a seasonally adjusted basis, 7.58% of mortgage borrowers were late on their loan payments during the last three months of 2011. This was down 0.67 percent from 12 months earlier, and 2.5 percent off the peak set in the first quarter of 2010.
However, another new article announced that the number of homes hit with a default notice, auction sale, bank repossession or other foreclosure filing in January rose 3% from December. That’s still significantly lower than a year ago however. One in every 624 U.S. households, nearly 211,000 in total, got hit with some sort of foreclosure filing last month. That was down 19% since January 2011, the 16th month of consecutive declines.
The intentional slowing of the foreclosure process by banks after the robo-signing scandal to be more careful about the paperwork created an artificial appearance of improvement last year. Post-settlement things will pick back up, and foreclosure filings should get back to normal levels. This clearing of inventory should be good for the market if it is allowed to proceed.
The percentage of FHA loans that were past due rose to 12.36% from 12.09% a quarter earlier, and from 12.27% a year earlier. Seriously delinquent FHA loans increased to 9.02 percent from 8.39 percent the previous quarter. Since a large percentage of FHA loans originated during the past few years, they are now in the years most risky for foreclosure.