The delinquency rate for mortgage loans at the end of the second quarter of 2013 fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.96%. That is 29 basis points lower than the delinquency rate of 7.25% at the end of the first quarter of 2013, and 62 basis points lower than at the end of the second quarter of 2012. That is the lowest level since mid-2008.
The data was published today by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The loans were made for one-to-four unit residential properties, and the delinquency rate includes loans at least one payment past due but not yet in foreclosure.
Only 0.64% of loans went into the foreclosure process during the first quarter, down slightly from the first quarter total of 0.7%, reaching the lowest level since the first quarter of 2007. Similarly, the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process fell from 3.55% to 3.33%, nearly a full point below the comparable rate in the second quarter of last year and the lowest level since 2008.
An MBA executive noted:
For most of the country, delinquencies and foreclosures have returned to more normal historical levels. Most states are at or only slightly above longer-term averages, and some of the worst-hit states are showing improvement. … While overall economic growth and jobs creation have been less than robust, the improvements have not been consistent across the country or all sectors. The result is that those states with the weakest economic growth and the most sclerotic foreclosure systems have seen the slowest improvements in delinquency and foreclosure rates.
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