Mortgage delinquencies stay low

Four percent of all U.S. mortgages were in some stage of delinquency in August, according to data.

That was a 0.6 percent decrease compared with August 2017, Irvine-based CoreLogic reported in its monthly assessment of nationwide loan performance.

“Delinquency” is defined as any loan 30 days or more past due, including foreclosures.

Also in August, the foreclosure inventory rate was 0.5 percent, the same percentage recorded in April, May, June and July of of this year.

That was virtually unchanged year-over-year, and the lowest foreclosure inventory rate recorded since September 2006, when it was also 0.5 percent.

Early-stage delinquencies – 30 to 59 days past due – measured 1.8 percent in August 2018, down from 2 percent in August 2017.

Mortgages 60 to 89 days past due in August totaled 0.6 percent, down from 0.7 percent in August 2017.

The serious delinquency rate, meaning 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure, was 1.5 percent in August 2018, down from 1.9 percent exactly one year earlier. That was the lowest serious delinquency rate since March 2007 when it was also 1.5 percent.

In the Inland Empire, 3.8 percent of all mortgages were in delinquency in August, down from 4.3 percent from August 2017. The region’s serious delinquency rate was one percent, down from 1.4 percent, and the region’s foreclosure rate was 0.3 percent, essentially static year-over-year, according to CoreLogic.