September Surge: U.S. Mortgage Delinquencies Climb Higher!

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Mortgage Delinquencies Continue to Climb: What You Should Know

In a concerning trend for homeowners nationwide, the latest insights reveal that approximately 3% of all U.S. mortgages are currently experiencing some level of delinquency—30 days or more past due. This marks an increase of 0.2% year over year from September 2023, as reported in the most recent Loan Performance Insights.

While the foreclosure inventory rate remains steady at 0.3%—the same as last year—it still sits near the lowest levels observed since 1999. This reflects a more cautious lender environment, but the data highlights a growing issue that homeowners should be aware of.

CoreLogic provides a detailed look into the delinquency landscape, breaking down the numbers for September 2024, which reveal the following:

• Early-Stage Delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due): 1.6%, a slight rise from 1.5% in September 2023.
• Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 0.5%, up from 0.4% a year earlier.
• Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including foreclosures): 0.9%, unchanged from last year, down significantly from the peak of 4.3% in August 2020.
• Foreclosure Inventory Rate: 0.3%, stable compared to September 2023.
• Transition Rate (mortgages moving from current to 30 days past due): 0.8%, unchanged from last year.

“The third quarter of 2024 has seen a sustained rise in mortgage delinquencies, although they’re still lower than during the Great Recession,” states an expert. “Yet, it’s alarming that 70% of metropolitan areas are reporting increased overall delinquency rates, with 30% seeing a rise in serious delinquencies. This trend signifies that borrowers are struggling more than before to recover from late payments,” the economist explains.

Key Insights by State and Metro Areas:

• A staggering 38 states reported an uptick in overall mortgage delinquency rates year over year in September. Louisiana leads with a 0.6 percentage point increase, followed closely by Texas at 0.4 percentage points. The remaining states experienced changes ranging from -0.4 to 0.3 percentage points.
• Among the 384 metropolitan areas tracked, 267 showed an increase in overall delinquency rates. Notable locations include Pine Bluff, Arkansas (up 1.1 percentage points), Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (up 1.0 percentage points), and several areas in Louisiana, all experiencing increases of 0.8 percentage points.
• Serious delinquency rates also rose in 116 metropolitan areas, with Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii (up 0.8 percentage points), Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (up 0.6 percentage points), and Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (up 0.4 percentage points) leading the way.
• For the fourth straight month, the nation’s overall delinquency rate has climbed on a year-over-year basis.