For the second time this week a major report on loan performance has confirmed that homeowners are recovering rapidly from the pandemic. The National Delinquency Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) put the nationwide rate of non-current mortgage payments at 4.65 percent of outstanding loans at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. This is down 23 basis points (bps) from the third quarter and 208 bps lower than a year earlier. The figure includes delinquent loans that are in forbearance programs. “Mortgage delinquencies descended in the final three months of 2021, reaching levels at or below MBA’s survey averages dating back to 1979,” said Marina Walsh, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “The fourth-quarter delinquency rate of 4.65 percent was 67 basis points lower than MBA’s survey average of 5.32 percent. Furthermore, the seriously delinquent rate, the percentage of loans that are 90 days or more past due or in the process of foreclosure, was 2.83 percent in the fourth quarter, close to the long-term average of 2.80 percent.” Added Walsh, “The quarters right before the COVID-19 pandemic represented some of the lowest delinquencies ever recorded . Delinquencies are now approaching levels not seen since the first quarter of 2020, which is a testament to the strength of the U.S. labor market.” Walsh credited economic forces, including the low rate of unemployment, growing labor force participation, wage growth and accumulated home equity for the low delinquency rates. Forbearance programs and subsequent loan workouts have also contributed to the current outcomes.
Source: Mortgage News Daily
