Delinquency rates stay up

Nearly five percent of all U.S. mortgages were in some state of delinquency – 30 days or more past due – in March, a 1.3 percent increase from exactly one year earlier, according to data released today.

That was the lowest number since March 2020, when the national delinquency rate was 3.6 percent, Irvine-based CoreLogic reported.

Early-stage delinquencies – 30 to 59 days past due – were one percent, down from 1.9 percent year-over-year. Adverse delinquencies – 60 to 89 days past due – were 0.4 percent, essentially unchanged from the previous year. Serious delinquencies – 90 days more past due – were at 3.5 percent, up from 1.2 percent in March 2020.

All of the above numbers include foreclosures. The national foreclosure rate in March was 0.3 percent, essentially unchanged year-over-year. All 50 states, and nearly every metro area in the country, recorded an increase in delinquencies in March.

“Nearly every stage of delinquency was down compared to a year ago,” said Frank Martell, CoreLogic’s president and chief executive officer, in the statement. “Homeowners are catching up on their debt as the economic effects of the pandemic begin to wane, which is yet another sign of forward motion on the road to overall recovery.”

In the Inland Empire, 5.1 percent of all mortgages were 30 days or more past due in March, up from 3.6 percent year-over-year. Serious delinquencies stood at 3.6 percent, up from 0.9 percent, and the overall foreclosure rate was 0.1 percent, essentially unchanged from one year earlier, CoreLogic reported.