Local, national foreclosure rates drop

Four percent of all U.S. mortgages were in some state of delinquency in August, a 2.6 percent decline year-over-year and the lowest percentage since before COVID-19, according to data released Tuesday.

Early-stage delinquencies – 30 to 59 days past due – were at 1.1 percent, down from 1.5 percent in August 2020, Irvine-based CoreLogic reported.

Adverse delinquencies – 60 to 89 days past due – and serious delinquencies – 90 days or more past due – were down 0.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

All of the above figures include foreclosures. The national foreclosure rate was 0.2 percent, essentially unchanged from the previous year.

Much of the housing market’s condition can be attributed to the government stimuli that was implemented to repair the damage done to the economy by the pandemic, said Frank Martell, Core Logic’s president and chief executive officer.

“The unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimuli that have been implemented to combat the pandemic are pushing housing prices and home equity to record levels,” Martell said in a statement. “This phenomenon is driving down delinquencies and fueling a boom in cash-out refinancing transactions.”

In the Inland Empire, serious delinquencies comprised 2.6 percent of all mortgages, a drop of two percent year-over. The Inland region’s foreclosure rate was 0.1 percent, virtually unchanged from one year earlier, CoreLogic reported.